


We've Never Met

by prissygirl



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Complete, F/M, Office AU, Rumbelle - Freeform, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-19
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-03-08 04:10:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 49,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3194852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prissygirl/pseuds/prissygirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle works in a large office building where she daydreams about the mysterious gray-haired man she sees through her window every day. She has almost given up on ever finding a way to bump into him. But unbeknownst to her, Mr. Gold has had his eye on her, too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Belle French pulled her blue Prius into her assigned spot in the parking garage at exactly five minutes to eight. She saw the black Cadillac parked next to hers, as it had been every day since she started her editing job at Jefferson Media two years earlier.

Jefferson Media was one of many companies housed in Blanchard Towers, a thirteen-story office building that dwarfed the rest of downtown Storybrooke. The U-shaped building was the tallest in the city by at least six stories. Her small office was on the 9th floor of the east wing, overlooking the garden in the plaza between the three inner sides of the building.

The owner of the Cadillac, or at least the person she had long suspected of owning it, had an office on the 10th floor on the west wing. Because of the way the building was designed, she had a perfect view of his window from her desk. Though his own desk faced away from his window, she could still see him as he went about his work. He was already typing furiously away at his computer when she came in each morning and he was still hard at work when she left each afternoon at 4:30 pm. The man was relentless, never seeming to vary or slow his work routine, even during the holidays.

She had noticed fairly quickly that the Cadillac was just as predictable. It too was always there when she arrived and when she went home every night. After the first six months, she began to wonder if it was more than coincidence. He did seem like he’d be the Cadillac type.

Belle made her way through the front doors, waving at Marco, the head security guard for Blanchard Towers. He was an older man with a white beard and an Italian accent. He was a sweet man though, and always had a smile for Belle as she walked past the security desk.

She saw one of the elevator doors about to close and she called out for someone to hold the door for her. A hand grabbed the door and she raced in quickly. The others made room for her and she smiled as she saw who held the door.

“Morning, boss,” she said.

David Nolan withdrew his hand and the elevator door slid closed. “Morning, Belle.” He glanced at her head, where she wore a velvet headband with reindeer antlers. Little bells hung off the antlers, swaying back and forth as she moved. “Nice holiday spirit.”

Belle grinned. The office’s Christmas party was that night and she was never one to miss a chance to dress for the occasion. Thankfully, her boss – both of her bosses actually – approved wholeheartedly.

Though Jefferson Hatter was the founder and CEO, David ran the day-to-day operations of Jefferson Media. He kept the office running smoothly when Jefferson was away and, more importantly, when their CEO actually showed up on site.

Jefferson had a habit of starting office fires. And no, that wasn’t a metaphor.

The two made small talk about their weekend plans in the elevator and on their way down the hall to Jefferson Media, going their separate ways once they reached the office.

Belle opened the door to her small, cubicle-sized office and laid her briefcase down on her desk. She switched her computer on, glancing out the window as she waited for it to start.

He was there of course, talking away into his phone, running a hand through his shaggy gray hair with his free hand.

Belle began her workday, but stole the occasional glance at him from time to time. It had become a subconscious habit at this point.

Though she didn’t know much about him for certain, she was fairly confident in her ideas. The hours he worked indicated that he was clearly a workaholic. The west wing of his floor was mostly taken up by a single law firm – Mills & Gold – so it seemed safe to assume that he could be a lawyer. It would explain how he could afford such a nice car, providing it really was his. He was always impeccably dressed in expensive looking suits when she saw him. Though she could only see his top half from her window, she figured his bottom half would be just as well dressed. She doubted he walked around in boxers.

The day she had started imagining what it would look like if he only wore boxers was the day she knew she was in trouble.

She had never meant to develop a crush on him. In the beginning, he had only been a curiosity, a way to pass the time when work became tedious. Belle’s favorite past time was to make up stories about people she saw in public, dining out at restaurants or strolling through the park with their significant others. He was just another stranger she could write a life story for.

At least, that’s how it started. It wasn’t as though he was one of those young, chiseled, butt-chinned men that women usually fell for. He was a smaller built man, with shoulder-length gray hair and a thin nose. She wasn’t sure how old he was, but she suspected he was much closer to her father’s age than her own. She had always had a thing for older men though – in theory, if not in practice. Her favorite film growing up was “Sound of Music” with the slightly brooding Captain Von Trapp and her favorite book as a teenager was “Jane Eyre” with the even more brooding Mr. Rochester.

Belle knew she spent way too much time daydreaming about the man, but there was just something so compelling about him. Apart from the occasional fantasies involving locations ranging from his desk to the supply closet, she loved to invent detailed stories about his life and his past. He seemed such a sad person. In the whole two years she had watched him, she had never seen him smile once. Belle, of course, took this to mean he had endured great personal tragedy, and she ended up inventing a tragic backstory for him, which she tweaked over time.

At first, it involved a terrible accident which took away his true love. Once she began to develop feelings for him however, the story quickly shifted to a failed marriage and the accident involved someone else he loved dearly, like a sister or a son. She imagined that he worked such long hours because keeping busy helped him to forget. Over the course of the two years, she also gave him a drinking problem, a rather ostentatious gold-handled black cane, and a rather deep, sensual voice that may or may not have sounded like Alan Rickman’s on certain days.

Belle was focused on that last thought in more detail when a knock at the door jerked her out of her thoughts, making her jump in her chair.

“Come in,” she said. She swung around in her chair and saw her officemate and close friend, Ruby Lucas, saunter into her office.

“Excited for tonight, French?” Ruby asked. “It’s gonna be crazy!”

Belle snorted. Jefferson Media’s annual Christmas party was quickly becoming legendary around the halls of Blanchard Towers. Most of it could be attributed to Jefferson himself, who always supplied his employees with more than enough alcohol for everyone to kill themselves. Twice.

“So I take it you haven’t invited anyone this year?” Ruby asked, reaching over to bat the bells on Belle’s headband, which let out a happy little jingle.

When Belle shook her head no, Ruby began to whine.

“Girl, it’s been well over a year since you broke up with Gaston. You need to get your groove thing on before it falls off!”

Belle shrugged. “Maybe I’m just not interested in dating right now.” Her traitor eyes flickered up to the 10th floor. She quickly looked down again when she saw that he had been standing at the window, practically gazing right at her.

She tried to turn away so that Ruby wouldn’t see the blush that was spreading like one of Jefferson’s wildfires across her face. As she began to spin her chair back to her desk, Ruby grabbed her firmly by the shoulders and spun her back around to face her.

“Don’t think I didn’t see that blush, missy! Who is he?” Ruby asked, her green eyes searching Belle’s blue ones. “And don’t play all coy with me. We’ve known each other too long for that.”

Belle sighed. She wanted to argue, but she knew the fastest way to get rid of Ruby was to tell her the truth. If she held out, her friend would only badger her until she broke.

“We’ve never actually met,” she said.

Ruby’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Is it like an online thing?” She plunked herself down on the edge of Belle’s desk.

Belle shook her head. Her expression was rueful. “No, it’s actually more of an ‘inbuilding’ thing.”

She glanced back out the window and saw that he had gone back to his desk. She gestured towards his office window. Ruby followed her gesture and frowned.

“What, the old guy?” Ruby asked.

Belle made a whining noise and, crossing her arms on her desk, let her head sink down upon them in defeat. The motion muffled the next words she said and Ruby had to ask her to repeat them. Belle turned her head and repeated it.

“I have a sort of ‘50 Shades’ scenario playing in my head,” she admitted.

Ruby glanced back at the man in the office. “Is he into kinky stuff?” Her voice sounded almost hopeful. Belle chose to ignore that TMI moment from her co-worker.

“I don’t know!” She threw her hands up in the air. “That’s the problem! I’ve tried to meet him a dozen times and he simply vanishes the moment he leaves his office. Like magic!” She glared at the back of his head. “It’s like he’s the Invisible Man of Blanchard Towers.”

Ruby made a face. “I hope that’s not what you call him when you masturbate.” Ignoring the outraged look on Belle’s face, Ruby continued. “Why don’t you just show up at his door sometime? You could walk in and be like, ‘Oh, I’m sorry’,” Ruby mimicked a high, syrupy sweet voice, “ ‘I must have exited the elevator on the wrong floor. Could you show me where to get off?’ ”

She turned to gauge Belle’s reaction. Belle glared at her.

“Too much?”

“I really wish I could fire you right now.”

Ruby laughed and lightly slapped Belle on the arm. “You’re a hoot!” She got up off of Belle’s desk to walk out before spinning around again dramatically. “But don’t worry, Belle. I’ll come up with some reason for you to show up at his office. I’ll be your cupid.” She smiled mischievously. “And better yet, I’ll come up with the perfect outfit for you to wear when you decide to seduce him. Just call me your fairy godmother!”

Ruby laughed and practically skipped out of the office. Belle got up and shut the door behind her. Glancing at the lock, she waited only a second before turning it.

She sat back at her desk and looked up at her mystery man. She sighed. Perhaps telling Ruby had not been the best move then. 

Belle tried to get her head back into work, but her thoughts kept drifting back to her and Ruby’s conversation. She had been telling Ruby the truth – she had tried to meet him several times.

Early on, it had become a game of sorts to try and run in to him. She tried coming in up to an hour and a half earlier to work – but the Cadillac had been one of a handful of cars already parked in the garage and he had been in his office. She had tried to work later, making it as late as 6:45 pm one night until she told herself in a strict voice that she was a very, very sad and pathetic woman indeed. She went home after that, popped in “Pride and Prejudice” and ate a pint of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

She also tried catching him during his lunch break, but the man was impossible to accidentally stumble upon. For a full week she tried casually running into him in the lunch line or in the cafeteria itself. She would leave the moment she thought he left his office, power walking so that she could reach the cafeteria first. The elevator would always seem to be at its slowest at those times, stopping at every floor on the way to the basement level. She would weave her way through the crowd of people who had gotten in front of her in the elevator and make it to the cafeteria first. But even though she kept her eyes peeled and allowed others to cut in line in front of her, she never saw him.

She would sit at her favorite table, which looked out on the garden in the plaza area outside. The spot was near the front, so she had a perfect view of anyone who came through for lunch.

But he never did.

She once toyed with the idea of trying to make it to his elevator before it passed her floor, but she quickly discarded it. Even if she raced breakneck speed down the hallway that led to the other wing’s elevators, it was unlikely that she would be able to make it. What was much more likely was that she would break her neck, given her completely inappropriate, but completely necessary high heels that she wore to work every day.

She knew they were bad for her feet and her back. But she couldn’t give up the few extra inches that they gave her. Even with her shoes, she was the shortest person in the office by half a foot.

Her shoes today were extra pointy. Though she was hardly as excited about the Christmas party as Ruby, she had definitely dressed the part. Apart from the reindeer antlers, she wore a 1940s-style tartan dress, which was red, green, and white plaid. Her necklace and earrings were matching silver snowflakes and on her feet were classic red stilettos.

She would never win the award for Most Outgoing at the office, but at least she knew she looked darn good.

Glancing back up at his window again, she sighed. Even though she enjoyed looking nice, it was always more fun to be able to dress up for someone. But perhaps it was time that she listened to Ruby and started dating again, recognizing her mystery man for what he really was – a fantasy that would never come true.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

Later that evening, when the party was finally winding down, Belle was regretting her choice of footwear. The party had run rather later than planned and she had been one of the few who stayed behind to clean up. It wasn’t until close to 8 pm that she made it back to her small office to pack up. She glanced out her window and was unsurprised to see a single office on the 10th floor with lights on. She couldn’t see him, but she knew he was there somewhere.

All of the sudden she had a new and unwelcome thought. What if the reason for the late nights at the office was that he was having an affair? He could have a woman – or a man for all she knew – in there at this moment. Even now, they might be about to play out her favorite office fantasy on top of his desk.

She sniffed and wiped away some moisture from her eyes.

“Damn wine,” she mumbled, though she had stopped drinking long ago.

She started angrily stuffing her things in her briefcase and yanked her reindeer headband off her head, shoving it in her bag. She was stupid to put so much energy into a ridiculous fantasy involving a man who was most likely married and just as likely to be having some hot, steamy affair with his blonde bimbo of a secretary.

She hated lawyers, she told herself. They were all scum.

Grabbing one of her notebooks, she was almost all packed up when she noticed a movement out the window. She looked up and gasped.

He was standing at his window, staring straight at her.

He looked surprised to see her. Though she didn’t consciously mean to raise her hand, she found herself meekly waving at him. Her eyes widened when he waved back. Judging by the look on his face, he was just as surprised as she was by the action, if not more so. He quickly dropped his hand and turned away abruptly.  
Belle felt the small thrill that had raced through her at his wave diminish. “He probably mistook me for someone else,” she thought. “Or he’s just too polite to not wave back at the freak stalking him every day.”

Despite her embarrassment, she stood there a little longer, slowly putting the last few of her things away and straightening some papers that didn’t really need to be straightened. She kept glancing up to see if he returned, but she didn’t see him. She was about to give up and go home when his office light turned off.

She squealed – forgetting her embarrassment from only a few moments ago – and raced out the door, barely remembering to grab her keys and her coat on her way out. For once, the elevator didn’t stop on every floor, thanks to the fact that no one who wasn’t getting free liquor at a Christmas party or a six figure salary would be caught dead at work that late at night. The doors opened and the click clack of her heels on the black marble floor echoed throughout the lobby.

“Night, Marco!” she yelled as she flew past the security guard and out the front door. She briefly realized it probably hadn’t been him at the front desk as she ran towards the parking garage, but she had more important things to worry about at the moment, including staying upright in her heels.

The ground level of the parking garage was empty save for her car, the Cadillac, and a beat up white van which she felt confident that her mystery man would rather set fire to than drive. There was always a chance that his vehicle was on one of the upper levels of the parking garage, but she didn’t want to think about that possibility. She had to believe that the Cadillac was his.

Because she sure as hell hadn’t ruined a good pair of heels to miss him this time.

Belle was panting when she reached her car, leaning against it for support. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She didn’t want to be gasping for breath in front of him when he showed up.

At least, not in the extremely unattractive, non-sexual way that she was now.

He probably already thought she was crazy. She didn’t need to give him any more reasons to support that theory.

“Especially when I officially am a nutcase after this,” she thought.

She turned around, keeping her back pressed against the car. She nearly slipped when she saw that he was standing less than 10 feet from her.

Damn.

Her breath was finally under control for the most part, but her heart had now decided to take up the ragged beat instead.

He stood staring at her, his mouth hanging open in an almost comical way. He held his keys out, as if he had paused midway through the motion of using the unlock button. He probably had, she realized. It wasn’t every day he got to watch some crazy woman dart across the parking lot in four-inch heels.

They continued to stare at each other, the silence between them growing awkward. He finally seemed able to close his mouth, but Belle noticed a muscle in his jaw that began to twitch. She suddenly realized for the first time how little she truly knew about the man standing before her.

For all Belle knew, he could be a serial killer. He stayed late at the office so he could plot horrific murders. The beat up mini-van was actually his and he used it to drop the dismembered bodies off in the nearby river.

She finally managed to squeak out a high-pitched “hello” and raised her hand in greeting like they had less than 10 minutes ago.

“Hello,” he said, still looking for all the world like he was waiting for her to spontaneously burst into flame.

She took a step closer, still nervous but encouraged by the idea that he seemed just as nervous – if not more – than her. She had to believe that serial killers were more confident. It was the only thing that kept her from hopping in the car and gunning it away from this ever-devolving mess of embarrassment.

“I’m Belle.”

He looked at her, the mystified expression remaining on his face even as he spoke. “I know.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

The day had started off like any other day in Mr. Gold’s life. He came into work at 5:30 am, parking his Cadillac in its regular spot. He was always one of the first people into the office every morning, and he was there well after most of his employees went home every night.

The occasional client threw some variety into his day, but for the most part, every day was pretty much the same as the one before it and so on, until the years seemed to blend together in his memory.

The first thing he did every morning was make the first pot of coffee for the day. Many of the others in the office preferred to have their interns bring them Starbucks, but he hated the overly sugared vile they were calling coffee these days. He figured it was probably cliché of him, but he liked his coffee black.

While nursing his coffee, he checked his emails and looked over his schedule for the day. Slowly the other employees would start coming into the office. His air-headed secretary, Ariel Delmar, was usually among the last, tripping in at the last minute as if she still hadn’t quite learned how to put one foot in front of the other. If she wasn’t the stepdaughter of one of the company’s most wealthy clients, he doubted he would have put up with her this long. But Ursula took it as a personal favor that they kept her stepdaughter out of her hair.

He sighed. His life was pretty much just that – keeping clients happy so their money kept his law firm a success. It was a fairly good strategy that had kept Mills & Gold successful over the years, even with the death of his former business partner, Cora. Her daughter, Regina, had taken over her spot though and business – as well as his life – had continued as usual.

At least, it had until about two years ago. That was the day the tiny brunette had walked into the office on the 9th floor and into his life.

He saw her through his office window every single day. He looked forward to the small glimpses he was able to catch of her, breaking up his otherwise monotonous day.

As a partner at Mills & Gold, his work schedule was demanding at the best of times, grueling at the worst. One of the few pleasures he allowed himself each day was a 15 minute break at precisely 2:30. He would sip his cup of tea and sneak covert glances at her through his window. It was the perfect time to indulge in what he considered his rather pathetic crush, as it seemed to be her busiest time of the day.

Often, she would be tied up on long phone calls around that time, allowing him to observe her uninterrupted as she worked. He was fascinated by the smallest action, from the way she curled the phone line around her fingers to her habit of painting her nails if she became stuck on a particularly long call. At these times, he became oblivious to anything else around him. He had even spilled tea on himself more than once.

The most embarrassing moment came when his partner in the firm, Regina Mills, snuck up on him while he was enjoying his daily ritual.

“Who’s she?” Regina asked.

His teacup rattled on its plate as his hands shook. “What? Who?”

He tried to feign innocence, but Regina knew him better than most. She smirked and laid down the folders she was carrying onto his desk.

“Just make sure she’s not some sort of gold digger,” she said as she walked back towards the door. “I don’t want my company winding up in the control of some secretary you’re screwing.”

“Th-th-that’s not what’s going on,” he sputtered. “And it’s only half your company!"

She shot him a parting smug glance over her shoulder before she left his office. He had the feeling that she wouldn’t be forgetting this particular moment anytime soon.

Currently though, Regina was too busy to waste any time baiting him. Both he and Regina were swamped as the holiday season kicked off. People were particularly vindictive when it came to this time of year.

“’Tis the season to sue loved ones,” he thought, glancing at the growing pile of paperwork on his desk.

However, he really didn’t have any obligations that got in the way of work. Apart from his son, who lived with his family halfway across the country, Gold had no loved ones nearby to spend the holiday with. Apart from the obligatory and impersonal workplace gifts that were exchanged each year, there was really only one person he wouldn’t mind giving a gift to.

It wasn’t as if he didn’t know her name. It had been easy enough to find out who she was from the building’s records. The security guards were ridiculously easy to bribe. It worried him a bit in respect to the building’s safety, but in this case he’d been grateful. He had gotten a veritable biography on her.

Belle French. The name still rolled off his tongue in a delightfully pleasant way. It also made him think of highly inappropriate, French maid fantasies. However, his favorite reoccurring daydream – when he wasn’t imagining taking her on her desk or against the window that he saw her through every day – was oddly enough in a library. He saw her read too many books at her desk to not recognize her for the bookworm that she was. Practically every time he saw her, she had a new book sitting on the corner of her desk. She could usually hold off until mid-morning until she seemed to need a small reading break. Not that he noticed, of course; his official Belle viewing time wasn’t until the afternoon when her work schedule picked up.

He saw her around the building as well. She often sat at the same little table right near the big front window of the cafeteria. He never went through the front door. There was a small dining room reserved for executives on the floor above the cafeteria, which is where he took many of his lunches, especially when he was meeting with important clients or other bigwigs in the building. He would often walk by and pause on top of the landing and look down to see if she was there that day. She often seemed to be searching for someone. He sometimes saw her eat with a tall brunette that she seemed chummy with. He supposed she anxiously awaited the arrival of her friend for lunch. Probably so she could talk about her hunky, six-packed boyfriend. Or perhaps she was awaiting said hunky, six-packed stud and he just hadn’t been unlucky enough to see the prat.

On busier days, like today, he would order something to be delivered to his office for lunch. He was on his best behavior today, sticking to work and refraining from sneaking glances at her throughout the morning. He congratulated himself on his restraint.

But shortly after mid-morning, he felt his resolve crumbling. He needed a stretch anyway, he told himself. He was fairly sure he hadn’t moved from his desk since he came in that morning.

He walked to the window, stretching his arms as he casually turned his head to catch a glimpse of her. A small chuckle escaped him. She was all decked out for the holidays, a habit of hers he had noticed quite some time ago. She was wearing a Christmas colored dress and on her head was the most ridiculous headband he’d ever seen. Her tall brunette friend was in her office with her and they were talking animatedly about something.

He grimaced. No doubt the topic was that prick of a boyfriend again, he thought.

Though the security guards had no records on her love life, he couldn’t believe that such a pretty young thing like her was single.

For a moment, he thought she caught his eye, but she turned away before he could be sure. His phone rang a moment after and he walked off to answer it, torn between being thankful and annoyed for the interruption.

As the day wore on, he kept his attention focused on work, even having to forgo his usual tea break as a client of his had a severe meltdown and kept him on the phone for a good chunk of the afternoon.

By the time he was able to take a break, it was late and he saw that the lights were off in her office. She must have gone home early, he figured.

For not the first time, he considered arranging an accidental meeting between her and himself. It wouldn’t be impossible for a man with his clout to pull off. No, what was impossible was the chance that she would give him the time of day. He didn’t expect a beautiful young woman like her to be interested in a gray-haired, middle-aged lawyer. He had three strikes against him and that was before he even opened his mouth. His sharp tongue and quick wit had brought him success in his profession, but it had also given him an equal amount of enemies both in the corporate world and in real life.

It was best he keep her as his personal Venus – his deity to worship in his thoughts and in the occasional dream when he was lucky.

No, he definitely didn’t want to find out what she would really think of him.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Mr. Gold was just beginning to pack up for the night when he saw her light come on out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see Belle at her desk, packing up for the night. He had never seen her at the office this late at night before and he found himself staring, wondering what had kept her. Thoughts of her engaging in some passionate office romance made him see red. It wasn’t until she reached up to remove the reindeer headband from her head that he put it all together.

Belle worked for that lunatic Jefferson Hatter, who was known to throw a lavish Christmas party for his employees every year. He felt the jealousy drain out of him and his cheeks burned with embarrassment. It was of course at this moment that she chose to glance up at him.

Their eyes locked. Equal amounts of elation and fear coursed through him. He wanted to run, but his legs were frozen to the ground.  
She lifted a hand and waved at him.

He managed to wave back, though he couldn’t think of one single reason why she would be waving at him.

Which meant she probably wasn’t, he realized. He turned away from the window, embarrassed. Of course, she hadn’t been waving at him. She probably had a friend in a nearby window.

Mr. Gold was mortified. He quickly gathered his things and left, briefly wondering how much trouble it would be to change offices.

So when he walked out to the parking lot, still reeling from their brief encounter at the window, he was completely terrified to find himself face to face with her.

He felt his jaw flop open in surprise and for the life of him, he didn’t think he’d ever be able to close it again.

She looked just as awkward as he felt. He thought it was all some sort of cruel joke the world was playing on him, throwing her in his path only for him to become completely tongue tied. He kept waiting for her to get into her car. Instead, she began trying to engage him in conversation.

He couldn’t make sense of what was happening. Not ten minutes before, he had been convinced she couldn’t possibly have been waving at him.

But now that she was before him, introducing herself, he wasn’t so sure that it had been a mistake. But of course, he wasn’t able to play it cool. Silver-tongued Rumbold – a nickname which he hated but had spread along with his reputation –all but blurted out that he was a creepy old man.

He was a stalker. He had stalked her. He might as well hop into that white van parked a few spaces away and have done with it.

Her face crinkled up adorably in confusion. “You know my name?”

He ran a hand through his hair. He always fidgeted when he was nervous. Even the muscles in his jaw had been beating out a samba a moment ago.

“Yes.” He closed his eyes in frustration. There was no way this was going to end well.

He heard her small steps echo off the walls. He knew she would be off like a shot now that she realized what kind of man he was. He opened his eyes and was shocked to see that she had actually moved closer.

“May I ask your name then?” she asked.

He was so surprised he would have probably given her his social security number if she had asked for it.

“Mr. Gold,” he said.

Well, perhaps not shocked enough to give her his full name, he thought. He didn’t want this conversation to get anymore awkward than it already was. Introducing oneself as “Rumbold Gold” tended to have that effect on conversations.

“Mr. Gold.” She rolled the name around on her tongue. It was the most erotic thing he’d ever heard.

She looked like she was making her mind up about something. She gave a short nod, as if resolved in her course of action, and started walking towards him purposefully. She closed the distance between them and offered her hand up in greeting.

“I think our meeting is long overdue.” Her smile shined brighter than he could have thought possible in the dim car garage. “But it’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. Gold.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their first meeting doesn’t go as Belle had planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally "We've Never Met" was intended to be a oneshot, but everyone loved this verse as much as I did, so it's now going to be a multi-chapter story! Chapter three is already written and in the editing stages, so expect the next chapter soon! Thank you to everyone for your patience. I dedicate this chapter to all of you!
> 
> Also, We've Never Met was nominated for Best Oneshot in the 2015 TEA awards. Thanks to everyone who voted and/or nominated it!

 

Mr. Gold didn’t shake Belle’s hand. Instead, he just stared at it, looking skeptical. 

Belle felt herself become irritable. “It doesn’t bite,” she said, a hint of bitterness worming itself into her voice. The moment she had dreamt about for months was quickly turning into a nightmare.

He seemed to come back to himself. “Of course,” he said, taking hold of her hand with a quick handshake, as if he didn’t really want to touch her. Any nerves Belle thought she had seen on his face had disappeared. In their place was now a cold indifference.

Belle withdrew her hand and unconsciously took a step back. She gestured awkwardly at the Cadillac.

“It’s funny, isn’t it? We’ve parked next to each other for two years, but we haven’t run into each other until tonight.”

“Not really,” he said stiffly. “There are hundreds of people who work in Blanchard Towers.”

“Well,” she said slowly, trying to think of something else to say, “I’m pleased to finally put a name to a face. And I’ve been wondering who drove that Cadillac for quite some time.”

He didn’t respond.

Belle continued, saying the first thing that popped into her head. “And of course, we work across the plaza from each other. You always seem so busy whenever I see you through the window,” Belle rambled, kicking herself for bringing it up the moment she said it. “Do you ever take a break?”

He cleared his throat. “Not really.”

“Oh,” Belle replied lamely. She was quickly running out of things to say. Taking a deep breath, she decided to ask the one question she was dying to know. As unfriendly as he was being towards her, Belle couldn’t quite give up yet. He _knew_ her name, she reminded herself. She couldn’t believe that didn’t mean anything. Belle felt a small seed of hope grow at the thought that maybe she hadn’t been the only one stealing glances across the plaza.

“So,” she began nervously, “you said you knew my name. How did you happen to know that?”

He cleared his throat again and gave her a smile. Belle supposed it was supposed to be polite, but everything about it screamed insincerity to her.

“Don’t flatter yourself, dearie,” he said. “I make it my business to know these things.” He looked towards his car and then back at Belle. “Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s rather late.”

Belle felt her next comment die on her lips.

He didn’t want to talk to her, she realized. She had finally met him and he didn’t want to know her.

“Good night, Mr. Gold,” she said quietly. He paused for a second before giving her a curt nod and getting into his car. His car door slammed shut and a moment later the engine roared to life.

Belle stepped out of the way, not trusting him to not back over her. The Cadillac backed up and Belle caught a glimpse of Mr. Gold’s cold eyes in the rearview mirror before the car pealed out of the parking garage and down the road. Within moments, there was nothing but the quiet sounds of the night left behind.

Walking to her car door, Belle unlocked it and slid inside. She starred out the window towards the road Mr. Gold had disappeared down.

She reached up a hand to wipe away the tears that were beginning to fall down her cheeks.

“Stupid, Belle,” she muttered under her breath. “Stupid, stupid.”

Taking a deep breath, she turned the keys in the ignition and slowly began the drive back to her apartment. She managed to drive home safely, though her mind was in a whirlwind and her cheeks remained soaked no matter how many tears she wiped away.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

It wasn’t until Mr. Gold drove up to his house and into his driveway that he felt his heartbeat finally return to normal. He let his head drop with a thud to the steering wheel.

The sound of the horn blaring made him bolt upright. He swore at the horn, the world, and whatever deity had decided it would be a good idea for him to meet Belle French.

The entire encounter couldn’t have lasted more than five minutes, but for him they had been the longest of his life, each second more embarrassing than the last. The whole thing had the surreal quality of a dream, though he supposed the term “nightmare” would be more appropriate in his case.

He remembered the way his pulse had quickened when he first saw her standing near his car, her face flushed and her hair slightly windswept. She had been even sweeter in reality than he’d imagined her to be, her lips even more kissable up close.

Gold had begun to sweat as their conversation went on. He had finally managed to snap himself out of his daze and shake her hand, though it had taken him far too long to do so. By then, he had realized she genuinely wanted to speak with him.

And he couldn’t let that happen.

Because sooner or later – and he’d bet his half of Mills & Gold on the former – she would have discovered that he had been letching over her for months. He couldn’t believe he’d been stupid enough to tell her that he knew her name. He’d had to think fast to keep her from figuring out why he would know such a thing. Gold played it off as a fact of little importance – only one bit of data in his network of information about the corporate world of Blanchard Towers.

He didn’t actually know the name of every editor in the building, but Belle didn’t need to know that.

Mr. Gold may have been a callous man, but he was not an unobservant one. He hadn’t missed her hurt looks as he continually brushed her off. He cringed as he remembered the moment where he had insulted her for thinking he could be interested in her. But Gold consoled himself that she would forget their interaction soon enough. Belle didn’t seem the type of person who would lack companions of either the platonic or romantic kind. She wouldn’t be deprived of anything by his behavior. He, however, had his own self-preservation to think of. Belle was the one bright spot in his otherwise dismal existence. It may have all been just a fantasy, but he knew he couldn’t afford to lose it.  

Gold let his head fall back against his seat. Regina was right. He really did need a hobby.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Belle had successfully avoided Ruby all weekend. On Monday, she quietly snuck into her office, shutting the door behind her and purposely not glancing out the window.

The knock on her door came at half past ten, followed by Ruby poking her head through the gap in the door when Belle didn’t answer.

“I didn’t say come in,” Belle muttered. Secretly, she was impressed that Ruby had waited this long. A patient Ruby was practically an oxymoron.

Ruby rolled her eyes, opening the door fully and walking into the room. She shut the door behind her and perched herself on her usual spot on Belle’s desk.

“You can’t be that surprised,” Ruby said. “You drop that kind of bomb on me Friday night and then you won’t return my texts all weekend? Of course I’m going to track you down and pump the details out of you.”

Belle frowned. “I answered the first text.”

“Yeah, with a ‘never mind, I’m just being angsty’. That doesn’t count and you know it.” Ruby crossed her arms. “Now tell me what happened with Mr. Mysterious!"

“Mr. Who?” Belle asked. She winced. Even she didn’t think that sounded convincing.

Ruby smirked. “That guy.” She pointed out the window. Belle slapped her hand down quickly.

“Don’t point at him!”

Ruby’s grin widened. “Spill, French.”

Belle bit back a nasty comment and filled Ruby in on the meeting Friday night. Her friend already knew she had bumped into Mr. Gold in the parking garage after the Christmas party, and that it had been a disaster. Belle had been so upset when she got home that she had foolishly texted her friend before she could think better of it.

Ruby listened as Belle relayed her conversation with Mr. Gold, nodding thoughtfully. When Belle finished, Ruby let out a low whistle.

“Well, he sounds like an asshole.”

“Ruby!”

“Well, he does! Who thinks they’re so self-important that they talk like that?”

Belle shrugged. “It was pretty late. And I suppose I wouldn’t like being cornered by some random stranger either.”

“No, he clearly knew who you were – which is definitely weird – so it’s not that.” Ruby chewed on her lip, swinging her legs.

The two sat in silence for a couple minutes. Belle kept replaying their conversation over and over in her head, as she had done all weekend. His behavior just didn’t make sense. Between his earlier nerves and knowing her name, she had believed that there was a chance that he might be interested in her, too. Then out of nowhere he had become cool and distant, making her feel like a pathetic schoolgirl with a crush.

All she had tried to do was get to know him and he had been outright rude in return.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Belle felt her anger rising. “He’s a jerk!”

Ruby nodded vigorously. “He clearly needs to learn some manners.” Her eyes lit up. “That’s it! We need to teach him a lesson.” She grabbed Belle’s hands excitedly. “Let’s TP his office!”

Belle groaned and rolled her eyes. She withdrew her hands from Ruby’s grasp.

“I think I’ll stick with my current plan.”

“Angry hate sex?”

“No! God, Ruby!” Belle shook her head. “I’m just going to ignore him. No more mooning at him through my window.”

Ruby didn’t say anything, but looked at her skeptically.

“It’ll work,” Belle said. “And it’s not like we’re going to be bumping into each other again. The fact that it even happened the other night was a pure accident.”

Ruby still didn’t look convinced. “Well, alright,” she said, standing up. “But if you change your mind about TPing his office, let me know. There’s a whole lot of toilet paper in the supply closet and I happen to have a spare key.”

Belle smiled. “I’ll let you know.”

Ruby gave her a smile in return and left the room. Belle turned back to her computer with a sigh. Out of habit, she glanced out the window and saw him striding back and forth behind his desk, his left hand gesturing animatedly as he talked into his cell phone.

She shook her head and reached up to the blinds, pulling them closed. It was time to forget Mr. Gold.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

He glanced out his window at her frequently that morning, his guilt mounting with each look. He had acted out of desperation the other night, and he knew that he had been completely rude. Was his maturity at the level of an adolescent boy, who could only express his feelings towards a girl through being nasty to her? Gold refused to admit to himself that the answer was probably yes.

Her tall friend came in at one point and Gold caught a glimpse of her pointing straight at him before Belle smacked her hand away.

He stilled. “Were they talking about him?” he wondered. His only consolation had been that she would probably forget the entire encounter had even happened. After all, it could hardly have been as monumental a moment for her as it had been for him.

But if she hadn’t…

Gold sighed. He never meant to hurt her feelings, only to protect his own. But he also cared for her, even though he was aware that he barely knew her.  

It seemed he would need to accidentally bump into her now so he could apologize. He scowled.

His cell phone rang and it jolted him out of his thoughts. Gold scrambled to his desk to grab it. There was only one person who ever called his cell phone during the day. But even so, when he saw the caller’s name flashing on the screen, he couldn’t help but grin.

He picked up the phone. “Hi, Bae.”

“Hey, Papa! I’ve got exciting news.”

Gold shook his head in amusement. His son had never been one to waste time on small talk, his abundant energy usually propelling the conversation straight to the point.

“It’s good to hear your voice too, son.” Gold chuckled.

Of course, Bae ignored his ribbing and continued. Considering that Bae had a ten-year-old son of his own, Gold never understood how he still had this much leftover energy. Gold remembered often being at his wits end during Bae’s childhood, scrambling to keep up with his son.

Bae and his family lived in Los Angeles, so Gold didn’t get to see them much. Both Gold and Bae’s wife Emma – who worked as a detective for the LAPD – were workaholics, so neither branch of the family got out to visit the other very often. If Gold was honest with himself, he always felt like he was interfering on their family time when he visited. So he kept his yearly visits to a minimum – Bae’s birthday in March and the occasional Thanksgiving when Bae was able to convince him that he wouldn’t be a bother.

“You’ll never guess who’s moving to Storybrooke,” Bae teased through the phone.

Gold rolled his eyes. He loved his son, but the guessing games hadn’t been amusing when he was a child and they were even less so now. Besides, Gold couldn’t think of one shared acquaintance of theirs he would actually be excited to see take up residence in his town.

“You know I hate these guessing games, Bae.”

“We are.”

Gold staggered back for a moment, almost losing his footing.

His son was coming home.

He must have made some sound of acknowledgement, because Bae continued on, explaining that the marketing company he worked for was opening up a new branch in Storybrooke and he would be managing it. Emma had found a job as well and would be transferring to the local police department. They had both been looking to get out of the big city for a while now. They wanted Henry to grow up in a safer area and were happy he would have the chance to get to know his grandfather better.

Bae might have said more, but Gold felt lucky to catch what he did. His boy was coming _home._ As soon as Bae took a breath for air, Gold was recovered enough to speak.

“That’s wonderful news, son.” Gold began gesturing excitedly with his free hand. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

“Thanks, but I think we’ve got it all under control,” Bae said. “Anyway, what’s new with you? I haven’t really let you get a word in yet.”

“Oh, nothing too exciting,” Gold fibbed, his thoughts drifting to Belle for the first time since his phone rang. “When are you making the move?”

“In a couple weeks. We don’t want Henry to miss the start of school.”

The conversation went on for a while with Bae filling him in on all the particulars of the move. Knowing how his father would worry, he hadn’t told him about the move until everything was set. When they ended the call, Gold was still smiling. He hadn’t felt this good in a very long time.

He glanced out of the window and saw that Belle’s blinds were closed.

He felt like someone had dropped a bucket of ice cold water on his mood. He hated that anything would lessen the good news he’d just received.

But in all the time she had worked at Blanchard Towers, Gold had never seen Belle’s blinds drawn. As much as he hated to think his rudeness could have such an effect, he honestly couldn’t think of any other reason why she would suddenly close her blinds out of the blue.

Unless she was privately entertaining that unseen boyfriend of hers, a nagging voice in his head suggested.

He ignored it and sat back at his desk. But between his earlier excitement at Bae’s good news and his anxiety over the situation with Belle, he found he couldn’t really concentrate. There was nothing he could do to speed his family’s move. There was, however, something he could do about Belle.

He would have to follow through on his earlier idea of seeking her out. If he didn’t talk to her soon, he was going to go mad wondering what she thought about him.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have a lot of time to do it in. Gold knew he only had two days to talk to her before everyone left for Christmas vacation. Less than two, now that it was mid-morning, he thought sourly. Gold didn’t actually want to talk to her until he had figured out what he was going to say. He would plan it out today and track her down during lunch tomorrow, he decided. Unless of course, she chose not to eat in the cafeteria that day, which he realized could very well happen. Then he would be stuck anxiously waiting throughout the Christmas holiday for another chance.

He let his head drop back on his chair. There was an hour left before noon. He was fairly certain he hadn’t ever seen her down in the cafeteria before that time. That gave him an hour to plan. An hour to figure out what he could say to make up for the fact that he’d made a complete jackass out of himself.

Gold sighed. An hour wasn’t _nearly_ enough time for that.

 

 


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold tries to apologize, but his attempt falls a bit short.

Gold had done it. He had come up with the perfect apology speech to give to Belle. It was succinct, direct, and would allow him to make a dignified exit if she threw her lunch at him.

Well, perhaps it wasn’t _perfect_ , but it was preferable to his other options. Both of which involved her thinking he was either a ruder person than he really was or, even worse in his opinion, a creepy old man with a window fetish.

He just really wanted to get the apology over with, so that he could skuttle back to his office and remember that he was usually the one people were afraid of.

But perhaps that wouldn’t be the end of it, Gold thought suddenly. She had seemed so interested in meeting him the other night. Perhaps, he thought hopefully, she might not only forgive him, but give him another chance. He didn’t deserve one, of course. But that didn’t stop him from dreaming that maybe this meeting could go the way their last should have.

He got so caught up in his fantasy that he didn’t realize that with her blinds closed, he wouldn’t know when she left for lunch.

Gold jumped up with a start. She could have already left and he might have missed his chance, he thought, panicking. If his nerves this morning were any indication, he was pretty sure he couldn’t wait until lunch the next day to speak with her.

His secretary Ariel regarded him oddly as he all but ran out of his office, the door slamming behind him. “Mr. Gold, I have some messages – “

“Not now,” he said, cutting her off as he passed her desk.

“But Mr. Loxley said it was important!”

“Not now!” he growled, striding out of the room and out into the hall.

The elevator took forever to get to him. He briefly considered taking the stairs, but decided against it. He had a weak ankle from a rather embarrassing incident back in his college days, and while he didn’t need a cane, he tried to avoid the stress that ten flights of stairs would put on it.

By the time the elevator let him out at the basement-level cafeteria, Gold’s adrenaline was starting to drain. He elbowed his way ahead of everyone else, exiting the elevator first. A couple people shot him dirty looks but he was oblivious to it all as his eyes landed on Belle, sitting at her usual table.

He cleared his throat nervously and began walking slowly towards her. His steps quickened when he realized that she’d nearly finished her lunch and was beginning to pack up her things.

Gold reached her table and had the sudden thought that maybe this wasn’t such a bright idea, after all.

He cleared his throat again, more out of habit than any actual need.

“Miss French?”

She looked up from her dinner, her eyes growing wide when she saw him standing in front of her.

“M-mr. Gold?” she stuttered. Her eyes glanced wildly around the cafeteria, as if looking for an escape route. Gold hated himself even more in that moment – something he hadn’t really thought possible at this point in their relationship.

Her eyes fluttered back to his. “Did I accidentally scratch your car?”

Gold’s well-prepared speech died on his lips. “What?”

“I thought – oh never mind,” she muttered. “What can I help you with, Mr. Gold?” She straightened her back and he saw some fire come into her eyes. “I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

He hung his head. “Yes, that’s why I’m here actually.” He gestured towards a chair across from her. “May I?”

She nodded stiffly and he sat down. “I was very rude to you the other night, Miss French. I wanted to apologize.” He absently ran a hand through his hair. “It was late and I was tired, but I should have never taken my frustration out on you. Please forgive me.”

It wasn’t exactly the truth, but he knew he could never admit the real reason he’d been rude to her. She did deserve an apology though, so it was the best compromise he could come up, acknowledging the wrong he had done her without divulging his secret.

Belle gazed at him a moment longer, her eyes seeming to search his for any insincerity before nodding. “Thank you. I accept your apology.”

He let out a breath of relief. “Thank you.”

She gave him a tight smile. He noticed that it unfortunately didn’t reach her eyes. She still seemed slightly uncomfortable and he realized that now that he had made his apology, there was no other reason for him to stick around. At least, not one she would be aware of.

He wracked his brain for another topic, anything that would allow him to stay with her a little longer. But all his worthless brain could supply were comments on the weather and the state of the stock market. Yet again, he wished he did something besides work every day. Why couldn’t he find some sort of unusual hobby, he wondered. He’d seen a flyer for spinning classes the other day. Gold wasn’t sure if they were related to yarn or if it was some kind of new yoga, but either had to a better ice breaker than “I apologize for being a terrible human being.”

He glanced back at her, wondering if perhaps she would save him, but she seemed to be avoiding his gaze. He almost wished she hadn’t accepted his apology so quickly. If she scolded him, he’d at least have an opening. At least they wouldn’t be sitting here in awkward silence, making him feel like an utter failure.

When he saw Belle covertly try to check her phone, he realized that staying would only delay the inevitable and make them both even more uncomfortable.

He stood reluctantly. “I’ll just leave you to enjoy your lunch then.”

It was only when she didn’t stop him that he realized how much he had been hoping that she would ask him to stay. Gold gave her a nod of farewell and walked out of the cafeteria. He realized he’d been so wrapped up in coming up with the perfect apology, that he’d neglected to make any plans for what would happen next. Part of him had hoped that things would just progress naturally after she accepted his apology, but unfortunately, that hadn’t happened.

 “But what exactly did you expect to happen?” His inner voice was loud in his mind, taunting him for having such high hopes. “Was she going to invite you to daily lunches and become your new best friend? Did you expect her to shove her lunch tray off the table and ravish you in front of the entire cafeteria?”

He felt himself become slightly warm at the last thought, but tried to banish the voice from his thoughts. In his distraction, he walked past the elevator and ended up having to take the stairs, or risk walking back into her line of vision and looking even more foolish.

As he reached the landing on the floor above, he glanced back at her again, remembering all the times he’d caught glimpses of her eating lunch with her friends, oblivious to his interest.

Except this time as he looked down at her, she was looking straight back.

Caught like the red-handed schoolboy he seemed to be nowadays, he could only offer a weak wave before turning and walking down the hallway as fast as his feet would carry him.

He should really cut off that hand for all the good it had done him recently, he thought. If he found himself waving at her one more time, he’d seriously have to think about an amputation.

\--------------------------------------------------

It was only half past eleven, but Belle was still struggling to focus on her work. Though closing the blinds had physically cut off her view of Mr. Gold, it hadn’t done anything to stop him from continuing to plague her thoughts.

Figuring that getting some food in her stomach would provide a welcome distraction, she decided to grab an early lunch. She walked past Ruby’s desk to see if she wanted to join her, but saw her friend was in a meeting in the conference room. Ruby saw her through the glass, mouthing the word “sorry”.

Down in the cafeteria, Belle decided to skip her usual salad. She felt like meat. Something she could rip into with her teeth.

She held a hand up to stop the cook, who began reaching for a salad bowl the moment he saw her.

“No salad today, Daniel.” She shot an apologetic grin to the young man. Daniel was a few years older than her with light brown hair and a pleasant face, which was currently grinning at her.

“You’ve finally tired of my famous Cobb salad?” he teased.

Belle shook her head. “No, I just feel like I need something special today.”

“Special occasion? Are we celebrating something?” he asked.

“More like mourning,” Belle grumbled. She caught Daniel’s worried look. “Oh no, nothing like that. I just need to get over someone, that’s all.”

Daniel nodded in understanding. From their past talks, she knew he’d carried a torch for someone for many years. He never said exactly how it had ended, but Belle sensed it had been fairly complicated.

Both she and Daniel had started their jobs around the same time. They became friendly over her first few months at Blanchard Towers and always chatted while he prepared her lunch. If his boss wasn’t looking, Daniel would often give her extra toppings.

On the rare occasion that she would come down here for a late lunch – anytime Jefferson tried to run a mid-morning meeting it inevitably ran through lunchtime – she would sometimes catch Daniel on his break and the two would eat together.

Seeing his cheerful smile was definitely brightening her day. His smile grew even wider when she told him her order.

“A cheeseburger?” He gave her a mock gasp. “You’re such a pig.”

Belle rolled her eyes good naturedly. “I’m pretty sure I can handle it.”

They continued chatting as Daniel finished her order. Belle then made her way to her usual seat. Ruby still was nowhere to be seen, so she guessed she would have to eat lunch alone. Mid-way through her meal, her phone vibrated and she saw that Ruby had texted her.

Ruby:  Still stuck in the meeting. D’s going on about scaling again. He’s like a dog with a bone.

Belle giggled. Once David got on the topic of scalability or sustainability, or any other type of “–ability” for that matter, the meeting was guaranteed to last another half an hour, at the very least.

She wasn’t overly surprised when she received another text a few minutes later. Ruby’s skin would be crawling the moment David busted out his beloved pie charts. It took Belle a moment to realize that the text wasn’t about David, but referring to their earlier conversation about how to deal with Mr. Gold.

Ruby: What if we spork his lawn instead? ;)

Belle: Do you mean fork? What’s a spork?

Ruby: ……………

Ruby: How do you have a degree in literature but not know what a spork is?

Belle and Ruby continued to text off and on while she finished lunch. She was just finishing her last couple bites and piling all her trash on her tray when she heard someone say her name.

She looked up and her mouth, still containing the last bite of her cheeseburger, fell open. She shut it quickly and blinked.

It was Mr. Gold.

She managed to stutter out his name. She quickly glanced around her, wondering if she could make a bolt for it before it was too late. She squashed that ridiculous thought down quickly. She was a grown up, Belle reminded herself. She was more than capable of handling the snobby Mr. Gold. But she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why he had approached her when it was clear from the other night that he had no interest in her whatsoever.

When she looked back up at him, an idea sprang to mind. Something must have happened to his car. She thought briefly back to that morning. She’d been fairly distracted. Had she accidentally bumped or damaged his car somehow?

When she asked him as much, he looked at her as if she was crazy.

“I thought – oh never mind.” It had been a perfectly logical scenario, she grumbled to herself. She couldn’t think of any other likely reason he’d want to talk to her.

She decided to cut to the heart of the matter, though she tried to keep her tone civil. “What can I help you with, Mr. Gold?” She felt herself become braver, and some of her frustration at him leaked into her voice, coloring her words. “I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.” Or ever again, she thought bitterly.

He had the decency to look ashamed. It may have been petty of her, but his discomfort made her feel better.

“Yes, that’s why I’m here actually.”

That piqued her interest, though Belle was still far from being comfortable with him being there. Her feelings were still a little too raw from their last meeting. She wasn’t one to usually hold a grudge, but part of her wished Ruby was with her at the moment.

Belle imagined the two of them throwing sporks – or whatever Ruby called them – at his head. She chuckled inwardly at the thought.

She bit back a nasty comment when he asked if she minded if he took a seat.

Belle did mind. She minded a lot, in fact. But she didn’t see any way around it without being just as rude as he had been, so she let him sit.

His apology caught her by surprise, but he seemed sincere. She found herself accepting and thanking him for the apology automatically, her head still reeling from his words. For a second, she thought he was going to say something more, but he just sat there awkwardly.

Belle wasn’t sure what to make of his apology. She’d been safe in her little cocoon of anger and now that she had less reason to be angry, she was furious. Hadn’t he played with her feelings enough? Being angry at him was the only way she was able to cope with the idea of losing her fantasy, and now he was trying to be _nice_?

Belle didn’t like it. The man was an enigma wrapped in well-tailored, three-piece suit. She tried to ignore how the navy blue material hugged his trim body. It was more than a little distracting and Belle found it hard to stay angry with him when she noticed for the first time how _good_ he smelled. The parking garage had its own unique smells, so she wouldn’t have noticed then. But now that he was this close, with his knee almost touching hers, she was suddenly acutely aware of his scent.

“Great,” she thought, inwardly groaning. “As if I need another reason to find this man attractive.”

Belle tried not to squirm in her chair, but she was finding herself growing increasingly uncomfortable, and it wasn’t only from the ever-lengthening silence. As much as she tried, Belle couldn’t think of a single thing to say to him. Her last attempt to get to know him had been shot down so expertly that she was loathe to try again. But on the other hand, she wasn’t exactly sure if she ready for him to leave yet.

With her already eaten lunch obvious on the table, it was too late to ask him to grab lunch with her, even had she wanted to be so forward.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her phone light up as a text from Ruby appeared. She looked at it briefly before turning her eyes back to Mr. Gold, who had just stood up.

“I’ll just leave you to enjoy your lunch then,” he said.

Like their earlier meeting, his manner was abrupt and Belle was too caught off guard to reply. He nodded at her and walked off, leaving her feeling more confused than ever. She replayed the brief conversation in her head, wondering if she had missed something in the exchange.

But though she went over it, no clarity came to her – only more questions.

The whole situation didn’t make sense. He had gone out of his way to find her and apologize. People only did that when they either cared about someone or had something to gain from playing nice.

He had neither.

She sighed and slumped back in her chair. That’s when she happened to look up and saw him staring at her from a landing above, one she had never really noticed before.

He seemed embarrassed that she had caught him looking and he gave a small wave, bringing to mind a similar wave from only a few days ago.  Back when Belle had wanted nothing more than to meet him.

Before she could react, he was gone once again, leaving behind a half dozen more questions.

She couldn’t figure out this Mr. Gold. What was even worse was that now she was going to be thinking of him more than ever.

\--------------------------------------------------

The journey back to his office was much slower than the pace which he had left it at.

Gold settled down at his desk, massaging his temple where he could feel a headache coming on. He ignored the note sitting on his desk from Ariel, reminding him to return Robin Loxley’s calls. He didn’t feel like dealing with that crook right now.

He thought back to his apology. Was there something else he should have said? He had gotten his hopes up, letting himself get carried away once again by his feelings for this young woman he still barely knew.

But there was still a part of him that didn’t want to give up. Gold knew he had panicked in the parking garage. He hadn’t been prepared and he’d missed his opportunity to make a good first impression. If she had remained indifferent to his behavior, or forgotten the entire matter like he originally thought she would, he probably would have been content to go back to the way things were.

No, he thought, that wasn’t true. Not any more, at least. The more time he spent thinking about her, even the awkward moments they had just spent together, only convinced him that the dream of her wasn’t enough anymore.

He wanted to know the real her.

Reaching for the bottle of Tylenol he kept in his drawer, he popped a couple into his mouth and washed them down with some cold coffee. The taste was bitter and he grimaced.

Forcing himself to at least attempt some work, he opened up his laptop. Gold knew he often got his best ideas when he set an issue aside and tackled a different problem. For the next couple hours he managed to push the thought of Belle away from his mind enough to answer some emails and work on one of his upcoming cases. He didn’t necessarily like representing Ms. De Vil, but her cases always made for a good laugh.

It wasn’t until his usual afternoon tea break that he allowed himself to look out the window towards Belle’s office.

The blinds were still drawn. Clearly his apology hadn’t been enough for her to even open them again.

He sighed and felt his headache returning in full force. If his apology had that little of an effect, he would have to try something else. Gold needed to think of some gesture that would soften her attitude towards him and buy him some time to think of a more long-term strategy.

Maybe he could send her a fruit basket.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fruit basket is finally delivered.

Cover Art by the amazing [midstorm](http://midstorm.tumblr.com/post/114008027226/weve-never-met-by-prissyhalliwell-belle-works-in) 

(Gold totally looks like he's looking out his window, doesn't he?)

\---------------------------------------------------

Belle sat in her office Tuesday morning, sipping at a cup of peppermint tea and staring at her window blinds. She had promised herself the day before that she would open them this morning.

Yet it was already a half an hour after she had arrived in the office and she still had made no move to open them. Instead, she had checked her emails, made herself a to-do list for the day, and lusted over a pair of teal satin stilettos that Ruby had emailed her a picture of.

Deciding that perhaps the blinds could stay closed for just a little longer, Belle was about to start one of her bigger projects for the day when she heard some commotion in the main office, followed by the sounds of hurried footsteps towards her door.

The door opened and Ruby’s head popped into view with a grin that could rival a Cheshire cat.

“There’s a delivery for you, French.”

Belle followed Ruby out into the main office, her puzzlement growing even deeper when she saw a delivery man standing near the front door, holding what appeared to be a rather large and ostentatious looking fruit basket.

“Belle French?” the man asked.

She nodded and signed the paper he held out for her distractedly, her eyes on the giant fruit.

The man gave her his thanks and handed her the basket, which weighed more than she expected. She would have dropped it if it hadn’t been for Ruby, who rushed forward to help her. Once they set it on a nearby table, Belle reached for the attached envelope and withdrew the card from inside.

“Dear Miss French,” Belle read aloud, “Please accept this gift as further proof of my sincerest apologies for the other day. I send these to all my employees at this time of year and I thought you might enjoy one, as well. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas. Sincerely, Mr. Gold.”

Belle’s wide eyes looked up from the note to find Ruby’s eyes, which were just as wide.

“Well I’ll be fu – “

Ruby didn’t get to finish her expletive, as their bosses chose that time to exit from their meeting. David looked somewhat amused by the sight of Belle standing next to a fruit basket that was almost a third her size while Jefferson walked straight up to her and leaned over her shoulder to get a closer look at her note.

“Secret admirer, French?” he asked playfully.

“What?” Belle asked, startled. “No, of course not. It’s just – “

“She has a crush on an older man,” Ruby interrupted.

“Ruby!” Belle hissed.

Ruby waved a hand at her. “Don’t get your granny panties in a twist. It’s obvious he’s interested,” she said, gesturing towards the basket. She smirked before picking up a larger than average banana. “Hmm, do you think he’s trying to tell you something?”

Belle wished the ground beneath her would just open and swallow her up, along with the blasted fruit basket. Just when she thought the situation couldn’t get any more mortifying, Jefferson plucked the note from her fingers and began to babble excitedly.

“You’re having an affair with Mr. Gold?” His eyes were gleeful and he looked just like a child on Christmas Day. “How in the world did you manage to snare the founder of Mills and Gold?”

Jefferson continued to talk, but Belle was too distracted by his comment to pay attention. She had always prided herself on being a clever person. Yet it hadn’t been until this moment that Belle had realized that her Mr. Gold was _the_ Gold of Mills and Gold. With everything else that had happened, she somehow hadn’t made the connection and now she felt stupider than ever.

A wealthy partner who ran his own law firm would never be interested in a small-time editor like herself, Belle thought sadly.

“How lucky would you be if this was actually the size of his – “

“Alright, that’s enough,” Belle snapped, interrupting Ruby before she could embarrass her further. She grabbed the basket and carried it into her office, dropping it onto her desk none too gently. Walking back to the door, she saw her coworkers still laughing – Ruby was practically doubled over, clutching her sides as she giggled away. Belle gave the door a solid push and it slammed shut with a loud thud.

She collapsed into her chair and wished, for not the first time, that the atmosphere of her office wasn’t so relaxed. Ruby, of course, thrived in an environment where she could say whatever popped out of her mouth freely, and goodness knows Jefferson only encouraged the candidness of everyone who worked there.

At least she wouldn’t get fired for stomping off like that, Belle though sheepishly, her anger finally beginning to cool after a few minutes alone. Looking back at the culprit that had caused the entire debacle, Belle reached for one of the bananas. It dwarfed her small hand and a tiny smile came to her face, thinking back to Ruby’s earlier comments about Gold and his sizable fruit.

Her eyes darted to the blinds. She got up and reached forward, opening the blinds and letting the winter sunshine into her office. Her eyes automatically sought out his window, and she was just in time to catch a glimpse of him watching her through his window before he ducked out of view.

Belle stood there, still holding the banana in one hand, as her mouth fell open in surprise. She kept her gaze on his office for several minutes, but he didn’t reappear.

He must have been standing there ever since he sent the fruit basket down to her, Belle realized, chuckling at how absurd her life had become.

Realizing she would never be able to eat the banana without choking on it now, she laid it back in the basket. Belle smiled and picked up her phone, dialing the front desk of Blanchard Towers.

It seemed a call to Mr. Gold was in order.

\---------------------------------------------------

Gold had been pacing in front of his window for the last fifteen minutes.

“How long does it take to deliver one bloody fruit basket?” he growled to himself. He vowed to find out the name of the deliveryman and have him fired. Gold checked his watch again, sighing. He couldn’t very well stand there all day waiting for her to open her blinds.

Gold let out a snort. Who was he kidding? He would stare at her window for as long as it took for those infernal blinds to open.

But if even the biggest fruit basket money could buy couldn’t earn Belle’s forgiveness, Gold began to worry that nothing could.

Perhaps he should have tried flowers, he realized. Maybe it wasn’t too late to switch his order.

He must have blinked because one moment he was starting at the unfriendliest blinds every known to mankind and the next Belle was staring back at him, holding what appeared to be a rather large banana.

Panicking, he threw himself out of the way of the window, hoping she would think he was merely glancing outside and not currently on a stakeout of her window. Realizing he wouldn’t be able to go back to his desk without possibly seeing her again, he walked over to his sidebar and helped himself to a small scotch.

It was definitely too early in the day to drink, but Gold felt it would calm his nerves. Besides, he had reason to celebrate, didn’t he? Belle had opened her blinds again, accepting his gift and second attempt at an apology.

Unless she hadn’t, he realized. He tossed back the scotch. Perhaps she was angry with him. Gold realized he didn’t know either way for sure and contemplated pouring himself another drink.

The loud ring of his phone made him jump and he almost knocked over his glass. He made his way towards the phone, grateful to have a distraction from his current situation. Picking up the phone, he answered in his customary gruff tone, “Gold here.”

“Hi, Mr. Gold,” the voice said. “It’s Belle French.”

She hadn’t needed to say her name. He would have known her voice anywhere.

“Miss French,” he managed to gasp out. “What a pleasant surprise.”

He thought he heard her chuckle for a moment on the other end. What he wouldn’t give to look out the window and see her face, so he could read her expression. But he knew he didn’t have the nerve to do so.

“I just wanted to call you and thank you for your generous gift. I’ve never seen such, uh … large fruit before.”

Gold smiled into the phone. “Well, I just wanted to make sure you understood how deeply sorry I am about the other day. I do hope we can put that all behind us.”

This time he was sure he heard her chuckle. “Consider it forgiven and forgotten.”

Relief flooded through him. There were so many things he wanted to say to her, but he couldn’t settle his thoughts enough to say any of them. “Thank you, Miss French. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas to you, too. Thank you again for the fruit. It was a very lovely gesture.”

“Glad to be fruitful – helpful, I mean.” He shut his eyes in embarrassment. “I’m glad you like it,” he said slowly.

“I do, thank you. Have a great day, Mr. Gold.”

He wanted to keep her on the line longer, but he found himself replying automatically. “Goodbye, Miss French.”

The line went dead as she hung up and Gold was torn between happiness that they had finally had a pleasant conversation and sorrow that it had ended so soon.

The next hour passed by slowly as Gold made a half-hearted attempt to do the work he had ignored earlier that morning while nervously waiting for his delivery to be made. But his heart wasn’t in it. Instead, he found himself replaying their conversation over and over again in his mind, a smile coming to his face each time he did.

His cell phone rang and Gold reached for it. “Good morning, Bae.”

“Well good morning to you too, Papa,” Bae said with a laugh. “You sound awfully chipper. What’s her name?” he teased.

“What?” Gold sputtered. “Why would you ask that?”

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment before Bae spoke again. “Oh my god, there is a woman! I was kidding, but you’re actually interested in someone. Who is she?”

“Did you have a certain reason for calling, Bae? Everything is going well with the move, I hope?”

“Don’t try and change the subject,” Bae scolded. “Is she a colleague of yours?”

“No, there’s no one at the firm,” Gold said carefully. He needed to get this situation back under control quickly. However, he didn’t feel comfortable outright lying to his son either.

Gold heard Bae give an inelegant snort over the phone. “Nice try, Papa. You should know by now that those Jedi mind tricks don’t work on me.”

He sighed. “Can you blame an old man for trying?”

“I’m your son. I can blame you for everything,” Bae joked, his voice low and sarcastic. “So if she’s not at Mills & Gold, is she at least on your floor?”

“What, right now?” The snarky joke slipped from his lips before he could rein it in. Between Belle and Bae, he was clearly losing all grip on his self-control today. He decided just to run with it. “What kind of business do you think I run here, son?”

Bae’s laugh boomed over the phone and it set Gold a little more at ease.

“You’re a riot, Papa. But we both know I’m not going to let this go, so you might as well just tell me.”

Gold knew Bae was right – he wasn’t going to get out of this one. Once Bae had hold of something he wanted, he was as hard to get rid of as a bulldog that had sank its teeth into something. It was a trait Gold knew his son had inherited from him, and for the first time, he wished his son was less of a determined individual.

“What do you want to know?” Gold fell back into his seat, utterly resigned that he would be spending the rest of the phone call in complete embarrassment.

“Everything, Papa.” Bae didn’t even try to keep the amusement out of his voice. “I want to know everything.”

\---------------------------------------------------

Belle stood in front of her Prius late that afternoon, frowning at the trunk.

There was no way this towering fruit basket was going to fit in her car, she thought. Despite the situation, Belle couldn’t help but smirk at her next thought though. She didn’t even need Ruby there to know her friend would have delighted in the situation.

“Can’t get it in, huh?” Ruby would say.  “I guess Mr. Gold’s junk is too big for your trunk? Wish I had that problem with the guys I dated.”

Belle rolled her eyes. It was bad enough that she had to hear those jokes when Ruby was around. She really didn’t need to be imagining them now, especially when she need to be concentrating on the matter at hand.

She had barely managed to carry the basket down the elevator and out of the building to the parking garage. Now that she was forced to realize that it simply wasn’t going to be able to sit up properly in her car, Belle was seriously considering leaving the damn thing on Mr. Gold’s Cadillac.

“It would serve him right for getting me a gift as big as a Rottweiler,” Belle grumbled under her breath.

Her little car was just not meant to haul a lot of things, and Belle - never guessing she would have a need for space that day – had already loaded everything into her car for Christmas. She was leaving directly from work for her father’s house, which was a little under a two-hour drive away. Besides her couple bags of luggage for the long weekend, she also had all her gifts for her family packed into the car, leaving very little room for anything else.

Realizing she didn’t want to spend all night trying to wedge the whole thing in, Belle finally gave up and started dismantling the pyramid of fruit, letting the fruit roll around the trunk. She was finally able to wedge the basket itself into the backseat and she let the car door close with a satisfying slam.

She doubted Mr. Gold would ever have another occasion to buy her a gift. But if he ever did, Belle prayed it didn’t come in basket form.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a ridiculous amount of trouble with this chapter, so I hope it was worth the wait! Apologies for taking so long to update - I was busy with a bunch of other projects, including my April 1 fic "The Bigger They Are" and "Postman Gold." Thanks for sticking with me, you lovely people!


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold “accidentally” bumps into Belle in the cafeteria again. She really doesn’t mind.

As Belle began her commute to work Monday morning, she felt in high spirits. She had returned from her Christmas vacation determined to turn over a new leaf. The time with her family had given her some perspective and she knew it was time to let her silly crush on Mr. Gold go.

She was firm in her resolve and nothing would sway her, she told herself.

Her resolve deserted her the moment she pulled into her parking space, her eyes immediately falling on the Cadillac. An image of Mr. Gold standing under the mistletoe flashed through her mind and, against her better judgment, she let the scene play out in her mind as she made her way into the building.

Forgetting him would be her New Year’s Resolution, she decided. Belle chose to ignore the giddy feeling she felt as she remembered his behavior at the window the previous week, all but throwing himself out of her sight when she opened the blinds. She found his behavior that day, including the ridiculous fruit basket he had sent, to be incredibly adorable. 

But she would still get over him, she reminded herself. A fruit basket was hardly a declaration of love, after all.

As she entered the elevator to take her up to her floor, Belle caught sight of a fellow passenger eating a banana. She giggled despite herself, and knew that she was probably blushing as her thoughts wandered to an entirely unhelpful place.

Thank goodness it wasn’t the new year yet, Belle thought. She would have set a personal record on broken resolutions – both in amount of time and number of offenses.

Thankfully, the morning passed by somewhat normally. After catching up on everyone’s holiday news, Belle found that she was actually able to concentrate on work for the most part, taking only occasional glances through the window at Mr. Gold, who seemed to be as productive as ever.

Ruby must have been trying to behave herself, because she didn’t mention the fruit basket incident from the previous week nor did she comment when she saw two gigantic oranges on Belle’s desk later that morning. Her friend merely quirked her eyebrow and laid some copy on Belle’s desk for her to look over.

Belle didn’t give Ruby too much credit for her charitable behavior though, considering her friend had spent a good portion of the Christmas holiday texting her fruit-related innuendos. More than likely, Ruby had just finally run out of jokes. Belle shook her head at Ruby’s antics. There was never a dull moment with her around.

At lunch that day, Belle found herself half-listening to Ruby as she glanced around the cafeteria. Her heart began to race every time she saw a tailored suit, only to be disappointed when she realized it wasn’t Mr. Gold. 

She and Ruby were sitting at their regular table, discussing plans for New Years. Ruby was raving about the newest club in town – Wonderland – between bites of barbeque sandwich, while Belle absentmindedly picked at Daniel’s specialty Cobb salad.

It wasn’t until Ruby switched topics that Belle realized she hadn’t really been paying attention.

“Any chance your Mr. Gold might be swinging by today?” Ruby teased. “He’ll probably want to make sure you’ve gotten your daily fruit intake.”

Belle rolled her eyes and grumbled good naturedly at her. “I thought you were out of the fruit jokes.”

“Orange you glad I’m not?”

Groaning, Belle threw her bunched up napkin at Ruby, who easily caught it.

“You know, potassium is really important,” Ruby said, grinning wickedly. “If you ask nicely, I’m sure Mr. Gold would give you a taste of his banana.”

Belle’s mouth dropped open and Ruby took the opportunity to steal a crouton off Belle’s plate. She plopped it into her mouth and gave Belle an innocent expression. “What?”

The next few minutes were spent with Belle glaring at Ruby, who happily munched away on her sandwich, looking as if she’d won the lottery.

With Ruby being blessedly silent for the first time in her life, Belle’s thoughts quickly returned to Mr. Gold. Even as she and Ruby made their way back to the office after lunch, she found herself wishing she’d get another chance to see him, however unlikely it was.

She knew there wasn’t any reason for him to seek her out now that she had accepted his apology – twice. But there had also been no real reason for him to have sent the fruit basket either, since she had forgiven him the first time. The man certainly perplexed her, which she supposed was part of his appeal.

By the next day, she had just about convinced herself that his weird behavior with the fruit basket was nothing more than the eccentricity of a socially awkward, millionaire lawyer.

That was until Belle looked up from her lunch table and saw Mr. Gold headed straight towards her.

\---------------------------------------------

It was Tuesday, which meant it had been a full week since Gold’s conversation with Belle over the phone. He figured it was probably safe to casually bump into her at lunch again now. He didn’t want to seem too eager, which was why he had very specifically not accidentally bumped into her on Monday.

Gold nodded to himself, finding his reasoning sound as he waited for the elevator to make its way down to the cafeteria. He had planned it all out over the weekend. He’d walk by her table, act surprised to see her, and inquire briefly how her Christmas had been. If by some miracle she invited him to sit with her, he’d be happy to oblige. If not, he’d get his lunch and be on his way.

He was a patient man and he could bide his time. There was no sense rushing into things, after all. Gold ignored the voice in his head that told him he was only saying that because he was afraid.

It was true, but he ignored the voice that told him that, too.

Christmas had been a lonely time for Gold. He hadn’t really celebrated, choosing instead to get some extra work done. The only highlight had been Christmas morning when Bae and his family had skyped him, and they had all opened their Christmas presents from each other together.

It had only lasted 20 minutes, but it had helped to lift his spirts at being so far away from his family. He knew it was silly to be sad when they were just weeks away from living in the same zip code, but holidays were just never the same without family.

His grandson had gotten him the ugliest sweater he’d ever seen. It was a dark green color, which wouldn’t have been so bad if there hadn’t been a design of a red tie with snowmen decorating the front of it.

Henry had found it hilarious though, saying that Gold wouldn’t need to wear a tie with it since it already came with one. Also, the point of the sweater was that it _was_ ugly, he had told his grandfather proudly.

Gold still wasn’t sure he understood that part, but if it made Henry happy, he’d wear it next time they saw each other.

As long as they were at his home and had no intention of leaving the house.

Though Bae had refrained from mentioning Belle during their Skype call, Gold could still see his son’s eyes twinkling away every time they made direct eye contact. They were twinkling so hard when Henry asked Gold what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas that Gold was convinced his son’s eyes may very well fall out of their sockets.

It was almost a relief when they ended the video call.  He wasn’t sure he could have taken any more knowing looks from Bae.

With little else to do during the holiday, Gold had found himself thinking of Belle often. As happy as he was that his family would soon be near, they would still have their own lives to lead. What he really wanted, if he was honest with himself, was someone that he could come home to each night. Maybe if he had someone, he wouldn’t feel the need to spend such late hours at the office.

It was too soon to imagine Belle helping him to decorate his home for the Christmas holidays – as delightful a thought as that was. Gold knew he needed to start small. At this point, even a normal conversation would be a huge step up in their non-relationship.

As the elevator doors finally opened on the cafeteria floor, his nerves began to take hold of him and Gold had to take a moment to remind himself why he was doing this.

Walking out of the elevator, he was happy to see that Belle was at her normal table and, more importantly, alone.  The only thing more terrifying than talking to her was trying to do so with another person around. He had no doubt that he would have turned around and got back into the elevator if her friend had been with her.

Feeling slightly gladdened by his luck, he willed himself to walk casually towards her table, pretending to not see her until he was within a few feet.

Only then did he turn his head, nearly jumping out of his skin as he saw that she was already staring at him, her mouth slightly open in surprise.

“Miss French,” he said, coming to a stop before her table. His voice stayed level and he thanked whatever deity existed for the small blessing.

“Mr. Gold! This is certainly a surprise.” She gave him a shy smile and he felt his internal organs begin to fail one by one.

“I just thought I’d grab some lunch. Get out of the office for a bit.”

Belle nodded. “I always try to get away from my desk for lunch. I really enjoy the view down here.” She gestured towards the glass window that covered the entire wall behind her. “Though it’s nicer in the spring, obviously.”

“Yes, it seems quite lovely.” He racked his brain for something else to say. “Do you sit here often?”

“Almost every day. Usually my friend joins me, but she’s busy right now – so I guess I’m on my own today.” She gave him a pointed look and he wondered if there was something he should be picking up on.

“You know,” she said after a moment, “you’re welcome to join me, if you would like.”

Gold felt a huge grin come onto his face. He didn’t even care that he couldn’t seem to control it.

“I’d like that,” he said. “I believe I will.”

After hurriedly throwing together a salad at the salad bar and accidentally overpaying the cashier, Gold practically ran back to Belle’s table with his food. She smiled at him again as he sat down, and his stomach did a sort of Olympic-style flip.

“How was your Christmas?” he asked, pouring his French dressing over his salad. He had thought the flavor fitting, though admittedly it had led to some rather indecent thoughts about what another type of French might taste like. Her lips were wrapped around her fork as she took a bite of her salad, and he felt an irrational jealousy towards the plastic utensil.  

“It was good,” Belle answered, after she swallowed her food. “I got to spend time with my father and extended family. It was really nice to be home for a while.” She took a sip of her iced tea. “What about you? I’m sure you celebrated with your wife and family.”

“No, I’m divorced,” Gold said. “My son and his family live in California right now, so I didn’t really get to celebrate with them this year.”

He had kept his eyes on his salad as he spoke, which meant he didn’t see Belle reach towards him. He nearly jumped as Belle’s hand covered his and squeezed it lightly. “I’m sorry. I’m sure that was hard for you to be so far away from your family at Christmas.”

Gold could only nod, amazed by her kindness and rendered dumb by her touch.

“I usually spend most holidays alone,” he said with a shrug. “I guess I’m used to it.”

He struggled to continue as Belle’s thumb began to run small, comforting circles on the back of his hand. It was hard to form coherent sentences with her touch burning through his skin like that, but Gold finally managed it.

“I really shouldn’t complain though. My son just told me that they’ll be moving back to Storybrooke next month.”

She squeezed his hand again and he thought he might die of a stroke right there, flopping face first into his hastily made salad that he had yet to take a single bite of.

“That’s wonderful! You must be so excited.”

It took little prompting from Belle for him to start telling her exactly how excited he was about it. She listened as he discussed the details of Bae’s move, an encouraging smile on her lips as he rambled on. That led into a conversation about moving in general, which brought up the fact that both of them had been born outside of the United States.

Now that he had been able to talk to her for an extended period of time, he finally noticed her slight Australian accent, which flared up on certain words. ~~~~

“Your accent is much more prominent when you’re excited,” Gold said, his tongue running ahead of his brain as he latched onto something they had in common. “Mine gets bigger too when I’m excited.”

There was a pause before the implication of what he had said sunk in. His felt himself panic, his gaze darting to meet Belle’s from across the table.

Belle stared back at him for a split second before she burst out into loud, surprised laughter.

Gold was fazed for only a moment before he found himself laughing too – harder than he could remember laughing in a long time.

People at nearby tables were throwing them strange glances, but he didn’t care. The only person whose opinion mattered was sitting right before him. Belle wasn’t judging him for his slip of the tongue; she was giggling along with him, humor dancing in her eyes as her sides shook with laughter.

Oh, but he wanted this woman, Gold thought. She was even more perfect than he had imagined her to be. If he had ever doubted that fact, he was sure of it now.

The rest of lunch felt like a dream. He found himself laughing and talking with her as easily as if they had known each other for years. It wasn’t until Belle looked at her phone that they realized they had spent over an hour together.

Belle scrambled to get up from the table, blushing as she spoke. “I guess I lost track of time.”

Gold saw her glance around the room and he noticed for the first time that the cafeteria was all but empty. He turned his attention back to Belle who was smiling shyly at him.

“I really need to get back to work, but I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed myself.”

His tongue weighed 200 lbs. and he found himself unable to move it. Instead, he nodded and hoped Belle understood.

She must have, because her smile only grew wider. “We’ll have to do it again, yes?”

Gold managed to stop his reply of “How about every day?” from leaving his lips, but it was a close thing. Fortunately, he was able to pull himself together.

“Well then, until next time, Miss French.”

Belle beamed at him before hurrying off with her tray, only to stop and turn around after a few steps.

“You can call me Belle, by the way.” She grew self-conscious for a moment. “If you want to.”

“Rum,” he said.

Her noise crinkled in confusion and he swore it was the cutest thing he’d ever seen. “What?”

“It’s my name.”

Her puzzlement faded and she rewarded him with another smile. “I like it. Until next time, Rum.”

Gold watched her rush off, emptying her tray before quickly darting towards the elevator. As the doors opened, she glanced back one last time, giving him a little wave before disappearing from his sight.

He looked down at the half-eaten salad before him. It was a mess of dressing, soggy lettuce, and too few toppings.

Gold had never had such a delightful lunch before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My inspiration for the ugly sweater Henry gives Gold: http://www.airellesnyder.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/16483768.jpg


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle and Gold are both on cloud nine after their lunch together, until their coworkers decide to weigh in on their romance.

As Belle raced back to her office after lunch, she couldn’t seem to squash the silly grin that kept appearing on her face.

Of course, she wasn’t really trying that hard to get rid of it. It wasn’t every day that she had lunch with the man of her dreams, after all.

Part of her still couldn’t believe it. They had spent a solid hour talking and laughing together. Belle honestly couldn’t even remember what half of their conversation had been about. Her heart had been beating frantically whenever he smiled at her, something she noticed that he had done quite frequently during their time together.

His smile changed his whole appearance. It softened the harsher lines of his face that made him look older than he probably was. His warm brown eyes crinkled at the edges and occasionally, like when he had accidentally uttered that ridiculous innuendo, his cheeks had blushed in a way that was too adorable for words.

Belle let out a happy sigh as she walked down the hall, ignoring the two women who gave her worried looks as they passed by. Even their obvious concern for her mental well-being couldn’t burst the happiness that had been bubbling up in her chest since Mr. Gold – since Rum, Belle reminded herself – had joined her at the table.

Apart from how successful the lunch had gone, Belle was actually rather proud of herself. Not only had she asked him to have lunch with her, but she’d also told him that she wanted to do it again.

For outgoing people like Ruby, she supposed that wasn’t much of an accomplishment. But for her, it was a big step. Belle had never thought of herself as brave. Any adventures she did have were usually the result of someone like Ruby dragging her along to try something new.

But something had changed today. Maybe it was all the months of pining or the way her knees had begun to tremble as Rum approached her table earlier, but Belle had decided then and there that she wasn’t going to sit back and do nothing. She had – quite literally – gone for the Gold.

Belle let out a soft chuckle at the thought.

Of course, asking him to eat lunch with her was one thing. Asking him on a date was a completely different matter altogether. The idea still seemed a bit too intimidating, even for her newly found courage.

Perhaps it was old-fashioned of her, but Belle liked the idea of him being the one to broach the subject. Besides, she still wasn’t quite sure if he was interested in her. He had clearly enjoyed their lunch together, but he had also pretty much admitted to being a lonely man. Enjoying her company and being sexually attracted to her were two very different things. Belle was wary to assume too much on his part without more proof.

She paused at the entrance to Jefferson Media, mulling the problem over for a moment before deciding that the smartest course of action was probably to wait. If it became obvious that he was interested in her romantically, but just too shy to make the first move, then she would do the brave thing and ask him to dinner. If, however, he was just lonely and looking for a friend, she would…

Belle frowned. She wasn’t sure what she would do in that case. Hurling herself from the top of Blanchard Towers did seem like a bit of an overreaction.

She brushed her negative thoughts aside as she opened the door and went into the main office.

Her smile grew back as she neared Ruby’s desk. Ruby looked up from her work just as Belle began to walk past.

“Thought I’d have to send out a search party,” Ruby said. Her eyes fell on Belle’s lit up face. “Why are you so happy? The cafeteria food isn’t that good.”

Belle began to walk backwards towards her office. “Oh, it’s nothing,” she said nonchalantly. “I just had lunch with Mr. Gold, that’s all.”

She turned around with a smug look on her face and kept walking. She only had to wait a couple seconds before Ruby ran past her and pulled her into her office, shutting the door quickly and shoving Belle into her desk chair before perching on the desk herself.

“Tell me everything now.”

Belle let out a happy sigh.

“It was just – wonderful!” she said, throwing her hands up in the air. “He’s actually really charming when you get to know him. And funny! He even seemed to think that I was funny.”

“You are funny!” Ruby exclaimed, swatting Belle on the shoulder playfully.

Belle snorted. “Not like you, I’m not.” Her smile came back quickly. “But I wasn’t just funny, Ruby. I was practically aggressive – at least for me anyway.” She lowered her voice in a mock whisper. “I even asked him if he was married!”

Ruby eyes grew wide. Belle cut her off before she could speak.

“Well, I didn’t outright ask, but I managed to ask without, you know, asking.”

“And?”

“And…” Belle paused, knowing it would drive Ruby crazy. “He’s not.”

The two of them giggled, feeding off each other’s excitement.

Belle almost felt bad about how happy she was about his divorce. She knew she probably shouldn’t be this ecstatic about a failed marriage, but she couldn’t help but be relieved that he was single.

“Bravo, Belle. I’m proud of you.” Ruby patted the top of Belle’s thigh affectionately. “Now all you need to do is ask him out.”

A smug little smile escaped her before she could stop it. Ruby gasped.

“You didn’t!” Her friend pointed excitedly at her. “Look at you getting out of your shell!”

Belle tried to wave the praise away, but she couldn’t help feeling a little proud of herself.

Ruby was always encouraging her to be more adventurous – often in ways that Belle thought were perhaps a bit _more_ than anyone but Ruby would consider acceptable. But her friend had a point. Belle knew her life was a bit mundane. Or at least it had been until the past couple of weeks.

Maybe instead of giving up on her not-so-mysterious-man, she would make her New Year’s resolution to be brave instead.

And what better way to start than with Rum, she thought with a secret smile.

A cough from Ruby drew her attention back to the present.

“Wanna share your thoughts with the class?”

Belle blushed.

“So details, woman.” Ruby began to check off items on her fingers. “What he’d say? What’d you say? When’s the date?” She was practically salivating, and Belle felt a slight twinge of guilt.

“Well, I didn’t exactly ask him out on a date. I mean, it’s another lunch date, but I’m not sure if he knows that I like him that way.”

“Maybe you could leave him a sign of encouragement,” Ruby suggested. Her voice sounded far too coy, and it made Belle instantly suspicious. 

“Like what?” she asked warily.

“Oh, I don’t know. Your phone number scrawled on a napkin, a pair of panties on his windshield…”

Belle almost fell out of her seat. “What?”

“Just imagine it,” Ruby said. “He comes out of the office to go home for the night and finds a lacy black thong sitting on the hood of his car.”

Belle began to rethink her resolution. Clearly taking life advice from Ruby would only lead to desolation and ruin.

“Absolutely not!” Belle crossed her arms and jutted her chin out. “You’re a pervert.”

Ruby gave her a knowing look. “You don’t own a thong, do you?”

“No, but that’s hardly the point!”

Ruby taped her chin in thought. “I have an old pair you could use.”

A slight headache began to form in Belle’s brain. She felt ready to tear her hair – or better yet Ruby’s – out with frustration. “That makes no sense. Then they’d be your underwear!”

“Yeah, but he wouldn’t know that, would he?”

Several minutes later, Belle finally managed to get Ruby out of her office, convincing her friend that she needed to get back to work. Ruby begrudgingly left her, though not before wriggling her eyebrows suggestively as she walked out.

Belle closed the door behind her and flopped down in her chair. While it was true that she had work to do, she had really just wanted to get Ruby to shut up about thongs.

Her slight annoyance lasted no longer than a couple seconds though. Belle’s gaze traveled out the window and up to Rum’s window, her breath catching when she saw him standing there looking back at her. He gave her a small smile and raised the mug in his hand towards her in silent acknowledgement.

Belle felt her face-splitting smile from earlier return in a heartbeat. Raising her hand, she gave him a quick wave. His smile grew bright for a moment before something seemed to draw his attention away from the window. He turned and walked away without a backwards glance.

 A small sigh escaped her. Belle wondered how long she would have to wait for him to join her at lunch again before it would be socially acceptable for her to march up to his office, pull him down onto that desk of his, and demand his undivided and naked attention for a few hours.

Probably at least a day or two, Belle decided.

A blush quickly blossomed on her cheeks and she turned back to her computer, hoping she’d be able to focus on work that afternoon.

Ruby was definitely rubbing off on her. Thank god she didn’t actually own a thong, Belle thought. With her hormones running at full steam like this, Rum would be lucky if she didn’t just dispense with the thong and try to mount him on top of that damn Cadillac herself.

\----------------------------------------------------------

Gold took his time getting back to the office after his lunch with Belle. He didn’t see any reason to rush; the work that awaited him was boring and monotonous – the exact opposite of the vibrant woman who he had shared a meal with just minutes before.

The entire lunch had been perfect. Belle had been perfect. He couldn’t quite remember the last time he had been this content with his lot in life.

Gold even found himself humming as he walked past his secretary and into his office.

Regina walked in a few minutes later, muttering something about one of their clients and waving some papers at him. She stopped suddenly when she realized he wasn’t sitting at his desk, frowning at him as he stood by the window, sipping a mug of coffee calmly.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” she asked suspiciously.

“Nothing, just a beautiful day.” He gestured with his free hand towards the outdoor plaza, which was covered in glistening white snow.

She looked at him skeptically. “We live in Maine and it’s the middle of winter. That’s as far from beautiful as you can get.”

He shrugged, but didn’t rise to her bait. “I suppose you’re right. But I’m entitled to be in a good mood at least once a year, aren’t I?”

Regina made a non-committal noise in the back of her throat. She laid the papers on his desk before turning around and walking out. “Just don’t forget to sign those.”

He nodded absentmindedly as she left, his gaze sweeping across the courtyard before traveling up to Belle’s window. Her tall friend had been in there with her before and they had been animatedly chatting about something or other.

Gold knew it was silly, but a small part of him clung to the hope that it was her lunch with him that they had been discussing.

It was ridiculous, of course. He knew that. Still, the idea that Belle would look that happy while talking about him was enough to make his old heart flutter about in his chest.

He scoffed at his fantasy and took a drink of his coffee. He was such a fool. But as long as Belle seemed amused by him, he’d take whatever time he could get in her company.

Belle seemed to be alone in her office now. Gold indulged himself for a moment longer. He was just thinking of getting back to work when she looked straight up at him, their eyes locking from across the plaza.

Unlike the last time this had happened, Gold found himself relaxing as he held her gaze, a smile coming to his lips. He raised his mug towards her, and was rewarded with a dazzling smile and a tiny wave.

He might have stood there until the world ended, but their moment was interrupted by Regina’s return.

“I forgot to tell you – ”

He turned around and saw her eyeing his position at the window again. Wanting to keep his growing friendship with Belle a secret from Regina, he quickly made his way around the desk to where she stood.

“Tell me what?” he asked, hoping his voice betrayed none of his current anxiety.

“Were you staring at that girl again?”

“Of course not,” Gold said too quickly.

A predatory grin crossed Regina’s face. “You’re seriously into her.” She moved to go near the window, but Gold moved in front of her, effectively blocking her.

“We’re just friends.” He held up his hands as if surrendering. “That’s all.”

“Uh-huh, and what do you and your “friend” get up to these days?” Regina smirked and pointed a manicured finger at him. “I knew you were way too happy and relaxed.” She shook her head in disbelief. “I must say, I’m impressed. It’s the middle of the work day, for crying out loud.”

Gold felt his good mood swiftly evaporate. “Nothing happened, Regina. We had lunch.” His free hand fluttered about nervously. “It’s hardly a steamy love affair,” he said, a hint of bitterness somehow worming its way into his voice. He walked back around his desk and sat down. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have papers to sign.”

Though he was avoiding her face, he could hear the amusement in her voice. “Whatever you say, boss.”

Gold sighed. Regina had never thought of him as her boss. Whenever she called him that, he knew the next words out of her mouth were going to be ones he didn’t like.

“If you don’t want to share with me, that’s fine,” Regina continued, her attempt at sounding innocent failing miserably. “Perhaps I’ll just have to stop by the cafeteria sometime. Get a better look at her myself.”

He bit back a groan. Letting Regina know she had got to him would do nothing to help the situation.

She had started to walk out of the room when she paused, suddenly sounding serious. “I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be working with Mr. Loxley personally from now on.”

There was something he was missing in that sentence, but he was so anxious to get her out of the office that he merely muttered a quick reply in acknowledgment. He sank further into his chair in relief when Regina finally exited his office.

Things were already complicated enough with Belle. He didn’t need Regina sticking her nose into his business. Perhaps it would be best if he avoided Belle for a while, at least until Regina found some other poor soul to toy with.

He had managed to fuck things up with Belle pretty royally all by himself in the past. He really didn’t need Regina’s help now.

\------------------------------------------------------

Gold’s resolution to avoid Belle lasted a solid two and a half days before he cracked partway through the day on Friday.

He knew it was too early to be seeking out her company again – even without the threat of Regina’s meddling – but he couldn’t help himself. He fidgeted in the elevator as it slowly descended to the cafeteria.

If he didn’t know any better, he would swear the journey always took longer when he was trying to catch Belle.

Finally, the elevator reached the bottom floor. The door opened and Gold found himself staring into the equally surprised eyes of Belle French.

“Oh,” she said softly.

“Hi,” he said.

They realized they were blocking the way as people began muttering and budging around them to get past. Gold stepped off the elevator. To his disappointment, Belle stepped on.

“I was just coming to get lunch,” he said unnecessarily. He gestured weakly towards the cafeteria.

Belle leaned towards him, her upper body effectively blocking the door from closing. “I’m sorry I missed you. I had to grab an early lunch before a meeting.”

She looked genuinely regretful and that soothed Gold’s crushed spirits a bit.

A man in the elevator behind Belle cleared his throat impatiently. “Do you mind finishing your conversation elsewhere? Some of us would like to actually use the elevator.”

Belle sprang back, embarrassed. Her eyes met Gold’s and they both looked apologetic.

He figured that was the end of the conversation. But just as the door began to close, Belle suddenly blurted out, “Tuesday?”

Gold had just enough time to utter a quick reply.

“It’s a date!”

He saw Belle’s eyes grow wide as the door shut. Gold stood rooted to the spot, his mouth falling open in shock.

He couldn’t believe he’d just said that.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to all my patient readers! I'm really hoping to start updating more frequently once my work schedule normalizes.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While waiting for her lunch with Gold, Belle fantasizes about what might happen if they ever got stuck on a elevator together.

It was finally Tuesday.

Belle stood in front of the copier, hopping back and forth on her feet excitedly. A stack of papers stood in a tall pile before her, waiting for her to feed them through the machine. She had spent the last ten minutes making copies, but there was still more than half of the stack left to go.

Usually Belle would have disliked such monotonous work. But today she found that she didn’t really mind such a mindless task. She hadn’t been able to focus much all morning, her concentration growing increasingly worse as the hands on the clock inched their way towards noon.

As she sent batch after batch of paper through the machine, Belle kept replaying her last conversation with Gold over in her head.

He had called today’s lunch a date. Those had been his actual words.

Belle let out a high-pitched giggle, before slapping a hand over her mouth. She glanced back at the open door and hoped no one had heard her.

Their copier was kept in their rather large supply closet, along with other office materials. It was a small room itself, but it was big enough for its intended purposes. However, it very quickly became cramped when two people tried to occupy the room as the same time.

On more than one occasion, employees of Jefferson Media had found themselves trapped inside the room when the rather old door had become stuck. Belle had once had a rather awkward conversation with Jefferson about his hat fetish before David had been able to force the door open and let them out.

Belle shivered. There were just some things an employee should not know about their boss.

She snuck another glance at the clock, letting out a weary sigh when she realized she still had half an hour to kill until lunch.

Once again, Belle’s thoughts turned towards Rum. The logical part of her brain was telling her to keep her expectations in check. After all, the phrase “it’s a date” was fairly common; it didn’t necessarily mean anything special.

But there had been a definite _something_ pass between them in that moment at the elevator; she was sure of it. It had given her hope – more than she had ever dared have before – that Rum might actually reciprocate her feelings.

Belle thought back to the beginning of their encounter. More than anything, she regretted having to leave him like that, standing outside the elevator looking so disappointed.

She began to wonder what would have happened if he hadn’t been on his way to lunch. If instead, he had joined her on the elevator, on his way back up to his office. And what if then everyone else had gotten out on the earlier floors, leaving just the two of them. Alone. Together.

Belle let her mind wander, the constant buzz of the copier lulling her into a Zen-like mood…

_The tension was thick in the air as the last person got off the elevator, leaving her alone with Gold. She wondered if he could hear the beat of her heart. It was so loud, she was sure there was no way he could miss it._

_When he turned to look at her, there was no doubt in her mind of what he wanted, because it was what she wanted, too._

_After months of longing for each other, this was no time to take things slow. Every second was a moment closer to another person walking in on them, so they had to make their time count. Declarations of love could come later; right now Belle wanted to feel every bit of him._

_He pushed her up against the back wall of the elevator, his lips descending on hers. The touch of his lips was electric and she tugged at his tie to bring him closer._

_Belle opened her mouth, moaning as his tongue slipped inside. His hands snaked around her, holding her tightly to his body. She felt his hardness as he rubbed himself against her. Belle gasped at the sensation, biting down on his lip in surprise. She broke away to apologize, but the fierce growl that left his mouth, along with the lust-filled look in his eyes, told her that he hadn’t minded._

_Gold pulled her hair back, his mouth closing over her neck. She whimpered, leaning back against him. He proceeded to leave dozens of kisses along her skin, interspersing them with licks and light nips, until Belle’s knees began to feel weak._

_His body effectively had her trapped against the wall. Belle was glad for his support as she was sure she wouldn’t be able to remain standing on her own. When he finally turned her head to bring her lips to his again, she kissed him with such intensity that she became oblivious to anything else._

_She missed his hand traveling down and then under her skirt. Belle jumped suddenly as his fingers began rubbing the lace material of her panties against her clit. Her knees almost buckled and she moaned into their kiss, causing him to kiss her harder, his fingers pulling aside her underwear to touch her fully._

_Her head fell back and she let herself grind against his fingers, eliciting a smirk from her soon-to-be lover._

_Deciding he was looking entirely too cocky, Belle decided to even the playing field. She reached out a hand and cupped the front of his trousers firmly. A small gasp escaped him and she smiled. He looked at her through slightly lidded eyes, his dark pupils burning with such intensity that Belle shuddered pleasantly. She decided it was time to take action, pushing him away for a moment._

_A flicker of self-doubt was visible in his face, endearing him even more to Belle. As confident and in control as he had been so far, it was nice to have the upper hand for once. She gave a wicked smile and shimmied out of her underwear, letting them fall to the floor._

_She saw the hunger grow in his eyes once more and he advanced upon her. They fell back against the wall again and their lips crashed together. Their tongues fought for dominance and Belle buried her hands in his hair, reveling in the softness of it. He pulled her as close as possible, grinding his lower body against hers._

_Moments later, Gold sank to his knees before her, pushing up her skirt, and causing her breath to hitch. His thumbs began to rub small circles on the inside of her thighs. Belle whimpered, and he flashed a crooked smile at her in response._

_Then he was spreading her legs and a second later his lips and tongue were on her, leaving her panting for air and gripping the sides of the handrail to keep herself upright. His tongue delved deeply into her lips and then his thumb was flicking her clit, leaving part of her skirt to fall down over his head._

_Belle looked down at him pleasuring her beneath her skirt and almost came from the image alone._

_Her coherent thought stopped after that though as he continued to eagerly lap at her folds, deep guttural noises of enjoyment coming from the back of his throat. His thumb continued to toy with her clit and Belle felt herself being pushed over the edge._

_She came harder than she ever had on her own, the sensation more powerful than any attempts made by former boyfriends during sex. Belle cried out as the orgasm ripped through her body, her fingers gripping the handrail painfully to keep herself from collapsing to the ground._

_His face emerged from her skirt, a smug grin on his face. Belle was panting, but managed to ground out a few words._

_“Get in me.” Her voice was deep and rough. “Now.”_

_The pleased look disappeared from his face as his eyes began to glaze over._

_He stood. He was still fully clothed, though his suit was a bit rumpled from their activities. Somehow Belle found it incredibly sexy that they could do this and then walk out of the elevator like they hadn’t just fucked each other’s brains out, no one else being any the wiser but the two of them._

_Gathering her close to him, he kissed her hard on the mouth. Pressing her up against the elevator, he yanked her skirt up before lifting her up to lean against the handrails. He unzipped his pants, pulling out his hardened cock before rubbing it up and down her center slowly._

_“I’m going to make you come so hard, they’ll hear you scream on the top floor.”_

_Belle smiled at him through the haze of lust that had settled over her brain. “That better be a promise,” she said, opening her legs fully to him and groaning as Gold slipped his cock inside her._

_They found a rhythm quickly and Belle clutched at his suit jacket to steady herself. He drove in again and again, pulling out as far as he could before plunging back into her body once more. His arms were bracing them both against the wall, which Belle knew couldn’t be easy. She wrapped her legs around him more tightly, clinging to him for dear life._

_He shifted their weight and with his now free hand, he grabbed her ass, pulling her even closer and making her cry out with the new pressure the angle brought to her clit._

_She knew she was close to climaxing again when he spoke. “Look at me,” he commanded. “I want to see your face as I make you come.”_

_His words pushed her over the edge and she came apart, her eyes never wavering from his. He was close as well, his voice strained as he spoke. “I’m so close, Belle. I’m – “_

“Belle?”

Belle dropped the papers she had been pressing to her chest. They fell to the ground, scattering everywhere.

“Ruby?” she asked somewhat breathlessly, still rather dazed from her intense daydream.

“What are you still doing here?” Ruby pointed at the clock. “Shouldn’t you have left for your big lunch date by now?”

Belle’s eyes swung up to the clock. It was almost a quarter past twelve.

“Shit!” Belle began to panic, bending down quickly to grab the mess of papers she had created.

Ruby bent down next to her on the floor. “You go, I’ll clean this up.” When Belle started to argue, she shook her head. “Seriously, just go. You don’t want to keep your Mr. Gold waiting, after all.” Ruby gave her a wink.

Belle shot her friend a grateful smile before sprinting from the room.

As she raced out of the office, ignoring the odd looks a couple of coworkers gave her, she heard Ruby yell after her.

“Woo! Go get him, French!”

 

Downstairs, Gold was anxiously sitting at what he had come to think of as Belle’s table. His left leg was nervously bouncing up and down, even as he tried to remain calm.

It wasn’t working very well.

She wasn’t coming, he realized. He had scared her off with his stupid comment about it being a date, and now she wasn’t coming.

Gold felt an intense urge to kick something. He had been waiting at their table like a fool for twenty minutes now, certain that Belle would appear any moment. Each time the elevator doors had opened, he had lifted his head towards them hopefully, only to be disappointed when the crowd of people would exit, Belle never among them.

He supposed he looked like a dejected little puppy, waiting patiently for its master. The comparison would have angered him more if he hadn’t already accepted it as truth.

Belle French had him utterly and completely whipped.

That thought brought a new image to Gold’s mind, which managed to distract him for a few moments at least.

At first, he thought that she had gone down early to lunch. He had noticed her leave her office a bit earlier in the morning, but had thought nothing of it, as there was still plenty of time before lunch. But when she didn’t return, he had hurried downstairs, wondering if she had decided to take an early lunch and if he’d still be able to catch her.

But her table looked unused and spotless when he arrived. Perhaps she was stuck in a meeting, he had thought. The idea had kept him waiting patiently for the first ten or so minutes.

Gold checked his watched again. Belle was almost twenty-five minutes late. He shook his head sadly. She wasn’t coming.

He stood up abruptly, turning to leave. His body collided with another solid object and he had to fight not to lose his balance.

Small hands gripped at his forearms. Gold found himself looking directly into Belle’s wide blue eyes.

“Hi.” She was breathing heavily, giving him the impression that she had been running. “I’m sorry I’m late. I got…caught up in something.”

Gold smiled softly, all his annoyance immediately forgotten. “Well, I’m very happy we were able to run into each other then.”

She looked at him strangely for a moment before giggling. “I suppose we do have a habit of that.”

Belle was still holding onto him, a fact which had not escaped his notice. In fact, he felt certain he could easily go without lunch, or even dinner, if she would be willing enough to stand like that with him for the rest of the day.

He saw the moment when she realized she was still clutching his arms. She dropped her hands self-consciously.

“Lunch then?” she asked, her voice a little higher in pitch than usual.

Gold inclined his head, holding his arm out towards the cafeteria. “Lead the way.”

Her smile was more than enough reward for his long wait. In hindsight, it had barely been any time at all.

Perhaps things were finally going his way for once.

They had just begun to walk towards the cafeteria when a familiar voice called out, stopping Gold dead in his tracks.

“Well, fancy meeting you here,” Regina drawled, the click of her high heels sounding against the floor as she approached them.

“Regina,” Gold said, trying to hold back a growl at her intrusion. “What a…surprise.”

Her smug look told him she hadn’t missed his omission of the word “lovely”. He looked back at Belle who was watching them curiously.

Regina reached out a hand towards Belle. “I’m Regina.”

Belle took her hand politely. “I’m Belle. Nice to meet you.”

“Yes, Regina is my business partner at the firm,” Gold interrupted. “She’s very busy, so I’m sure she’s merely here to grab some lunch to eat. In her office,” he added with emphasis.

The Cheshire-like grin that Regina shot him made his blood run cold. “Actually, my afternoon just opened up. I thought I’d join you down here.” She turned to Belle. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Belle seemed to hesitate for a moment. Gold was sure he only imagined the brief flicker of disappointment that crossed her face.

“Of course,” Belle said cheerily. “The more the merrier, right?”

Regina looked at her skeptically. “Of course.” She turned back to Gold. “Shall we?”

Gold had several choice replies for Regina, but he managed to keep them all back. He nodded instead and they walked into the cafeteria.

“I usually get a salad over here,” Belle explained. “But there are lots of other options if you want something else.”

“A salad sounds marvelous,” Regina said. Gold personally thought her carnivore-size smile would indicate otherwise, but he bit back that comment, too.

“Hi, Daniel,” Belle said, greeting the cook behind the counter. “I brought some friends today.”

At the sound of Belle’s voice, Daniel looked up from his prep station with a smile on his face.

It froze a second later when his eyes fell on them.

Besides him, Gold felt Regina tense as well.

“Daniel?” Regina asked.

Daniel’s eyes grew wide. “Regina?”

Having known Regina all her life, Gold was fairly certain he knew what was happening. Which also meant he knew that all hell was about to break lose. He quickly slid around Regina and grasped Belle by the elbow, gently pulling her away with him, just as the raised voices began. 

Belle and Gold watched from the other side of the room as Regina and Daniel’s conversation grew in intensity.

“What’s going on?” Belle asked, sounding concerned.

“Unless I’m mistaken, that is Regina’s first love. They were engaged years ago when she was about eighteen. “

“Engaged?”

“I believe her mother managed to break it off shortly after Regina’s accident.” When Belle looked at him quizzically, he added, “I think they were trying to elope when their car ran off the road. Regina was in pretty bad shape for a while. That’s actually how she got that scar above her lip.” He glanced back at the pair, whose argument had grown so loud that they were now drawing half the cafeteria’s notice. Gold was sure a manager would come storming out any moment. “I never knew what happened to the boy except that he disappeared from Regina’s life without so much as a goodbye after that. Never even visited her in the hospital.”

Belle frowned. “That doesn’t sound like Daniel.”

They both fell silent and turned back to watch. Regina was practically shouting now while Daniel was looking around worriedly, no doubt concerned that causing such a scene could get him fired. Gold finally noticed a manger-looking person cowering behind a kitchen door with some of the other cooks. Apparently he didn’t want to face Regina any more than Daniel did right now.

“I just can’t imagine the two of them together. I mean, he’s – “

“In food service? I know,” Gold replied, interrupting her.

Belle glared at him. “No, I was going to say, he’s _really nice_.”

“Oh.” Gold looked at a loss for words. “Well, I suppose we both have prejudices.”

Belle snorted. “Some more ill-founded than others.” She gestured to Regina, who had picked up a muffin from a nearby basket and thrown it across the counter at Daniel’s head. “I don’t think you can call it a prejudice on my part if she really is a terrible person.”

Gold shrugged and made a non-committal noise in the back of his throat. “She has her off days, I suppose.”

“And how often does she have non-off days?” Belle asked skeptically.

“At least once a year,” Gold said, his voice deadpan.

Belle’s surprised bark of laugher was loud enough to draw the looks of some of the crowd that had currently stopped to watch the unfolding argument. One person a few feet away even shushed them before turning back to hear what inventive language Regina was currently using to insult Daniel’s intelligence.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Gold asked suddenly.

Belle’s mouth stuttered open in surprise. “Oh – okay.”

They squeezed past the other people crowded around, making their way to the elevator.

“Do you have time to walk down the block?” Belle asked. “There are a couple fast food restaurants down there.”

Gold knew there was a stack of files on his desk that would take him most of the night to get through. He also knew that for the first time in a very long time, he didn’t give a shit.

“I have time for this,” he said.

“Good. Let’s go have an adventure then,” Belle said, linking her arm through his.

Gold couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. He wasn’t sure where Belle – or this friendship for that matter – was taking them, but he was excited to find out.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Ruby gets into a fender bender with some asshole driving a Cadillac in the office parking lot. He seems more interested in her happy hour plans (which she is late meeting Belle for) than in getting her insurance information.
> 
> Disclaimer: Things are not always as they appear...

The last three weeks had been maddeningly wonderful.

The more time Belle spent with Rum, the more she wanted him. He had opened up even more with her as time had gone on, telling her more about himself and his life. He had a quick tongue and an even sharper wit that never failed to make her giggle. The look of happiness on his face when she laughed at his quips was beyond endearing. Even more delightful was that mischievous look of his that seemed to appear out of nowhere on occasion. At those times, her teasing only seemed to encourage his wicked behavior.

In moments like those, it was easy to believe that he felt the same as she did.

Unfortunately, it was getting harder and harder to believe. The closest they had gotten to a date was the day they ditched Regina in the cafeteria and ended up getting hamburgers down the street. Since then, they had agreed to make their Tuesday lunch a weekly tradition.

But despite everything, he had never made any further mention of a date. Belle was quickly beginning to realize that his use of the phrase that day by the elevators must have been merely a slip of the tongue.

She was reflecting on this at lunch one Monday when Ruby interrupted her thoughts, confessing her newest plan to ruin Belle’s life.

“Absolutely not.”

“Oh come on,” Ruby whined. “He’s a great guy.”

Belle stabbed her fork into her salad with rather more force than necessary. “I don’t want or need your help to find a boyfriend.” She chewed her food before adding, “And I definitely don’t want to go on another one of your blind dates.”

Ruby munched on a French fry. “What was so bad about Victor? He’s a doctor, for Christ’s sake!”

“Let’s just say he was rather too obvious about wanting to show me his bedside manner as soon as possible.” Belle rolled her eyes. “Besides, I thought you were convinced Mr. Gold was in love with me. Why are you trying to set me up with someone else?”

Her friend snorted. “By the time he gets around to asking you out, you’ll be pushing him in a wheelchair.”

“Ruby!”

“It’s been weeks, Belle,” Ruby said. “He’s a man. If he wanted to be banging you, he’d be doing it already.”

Belle shifted uncomfortably in her seat. It was less than pleasant hearing her friend repeat her own worries back to her. “Maybe he’s shy?”

Ruby snorted. “Nobody’s _that_ shy. Honestly, I’m half-convinced he’s gay at this point.” She began checking items off on her fingers. “Divorced, but never remarried. Incredibly well-dressed. Great hair. No attachments of any kind, though he’s wealthier than God. And he’s friends, but nothing more, with an incredibly cute, younger woman with killer legs only second to my own.” She nodded her head. “Yep, sounds like a middle-aged man hiding in the closet to me.”

Belle sighed and pushed her salad around her plate. Ruby was right – at least about Gold having had tons of opportunity to ask her out. If he did like her, and Belle thought it was a fairly big “if” at this point, wouldn’t he have asked by now?

“Honey, I know you like him, but I think it’s time you realized it’s not going to happen between you two,” Ruby said gently. “You need to get out there again. Take some risks. Be brave like you said.”

Belle nodded. She knew she needed something more in her life. Her fascination with Mr. Gold had originally started as a way to distract her from the boring sameness of every day. Except for the times Ruby peeled her away from her couch, Belle was more likely than not to spend her nights curled up with a good book or rewatching a BBC period drama for the tenth time.

A relationship wasn’t necessarily the answer to her lack of a social life, but maybe getting out there would at least be a start.  She had made a New Year’s resolution to be brave, after all.

“So what’s this other guy like?” Belle finally asked.

Ruby bounced up and down in her seat excitedly. “He’s really great. He works with Billy in sales on the fourth floor and has a great sense of humor.”

Belle sighed. “I don’t know, Ruby. I don’t think it’s a good idea – “

“And wearing out your vibrator while thinking about Mr. Gold is?” Ruby asked **,** her voice rather too loud for Belle’s comfort.

She glanced around the room nervously. Several people were looking their way and Belle shrank in her seat, blushing.

“If I say yes, will you _please_ lower your voice?”

“Of course.” Ruby smiled triumphantly, popping another fry into her mouth.

Beside her, Belle inwardly groaned. She hoped she wouldn’t regret this.   

 

The last three weeks had been maddeningly wonderful.

Gold found himself smiling as he waited for the elevator. He was on his way down to the lunchroom. Today was a Tuesday, which meant it was a Belle day.

For once, life seemed to be going his way. Not only did he have standing lunch appointments with Belle every week, but he had his family around for the first time in years. Bae, Emma, and Henry had finally moved into their new home in Storybrooke. He’d seen them every weekend since the move, and had even been invited over for the occasional week night dinner since they arrived.

His life honestly couldn’t get any better.

Well, perhaps that wasn’t quite true. Gold was pretty sure he had finally worked the courage up to ask Belle out on a proper date. As much as he still couldn’t believe that a beautiful and vibrant young woman like her would be interested in him, he felt that all the small signs he had been seeing had to mean something. Her little touches to his forearm while they talked, the way she would end up several inches closer to him by the end of each meal, her soft gaze as their eyes locked for a beat longer than would be considered polite – Gold couldn’t believe that these things were all in his head.

The elevator doors opened and Gold stepped on. He was grateful that he had once again escaped from the office without Regina noticing. His partner had been rather sullen around the office in the weeks since the now famous lunch fiasco. She had refrained from invading any more of his lunches with Belle, but she still liked to shoot him rather knowing glances when she saw him prepare to leave for the lunch hour.

She had even gone so far as making kissy faces last week. As much as he did want to kiss Belle, he really didn’t need to see Regina’s face making that kind of expression.

The doors opened onto the cafeteria floor and he walked out, his eyes landing on Belle immediately.

Yes, Gold thought happily, things were finally looking up.

 

Belle’s stomach was already in knots. When she saw Rum enter the cafeteria, she felt them pull even tighter.

She had decided that she would use her upcoming date as a test. She would tell Rum about it and gauge his reaction. If he looked upset or jealous, then she’d know that he saw her as more than a friend. If he didn’t do either of those things, then she would probably burst into tears the moment she was back at her desk.

On the bright side, at least she would finally know where they stood.

Belle waited halfway through lunch to bring the topic up. She kept her voice casual as she spoke. “So my friend wants to set me up on a date Friday night.”

She felt him stiffen beside her and she looked up at him, studying his expression. His face gave nothing away. In fact, it was completely devoid of emotion.

“Oh.”

“Don’t just say ‘oh’. What do you think?”

“It’s really none of my business, Belle.” He gave her a rueful smile. “I’m hardly one to be giving romantic advice anyway, at my age.”

She smacked him lightly on the arm. “You’re not old! Besides, you’re my friend.” She locked gazes with him. “Your opinion is important to me. If you don’t think I should go, then I won’t.”

There was a beat of silence and for a moment, Belle thought she saw something shift in his eyes. It was gone as quickly as it had come though, and she realized she had probably only imagined it.

“I think you should go.”

Belle hadn’t expected such a simple sentence to hurt so much. She could feel the weight of it as the truth came crashing down on her.

He didn’t want her.

She looked away before he could see the tears that were starting to well up in her eyes. “Good. I think I should, too.”

“Good.”

“Yes.”

It was quiet for a few moments before Rum suddenly stood up. Belle quickly blinked the tears away before looking at him, watching in confusion as he grabbed his lunch tray.

“I actually need to get back to the office for a meeting.” His eyes met hers and she could almost swear she saw her own pain reflected back in them. “Good luck on your date, Belle.”

Then he walked away. Belle felt angry and confused, unsure of what had just happened.

But mostly, she just felt sad.

 

It was the perfect end to an already terrible week.

Gold had been pulling out of his parking spot when he heard the screech of car tires. His body slammed hard into the seat belt as his car was jerked forward.

He groaned, unbuckling his seat belt before getting out of the Cadillac. He walked around to the back of his car where a vaguely familiar looking young woman was just climbing out of an old, beat up red Mustang.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry!” she said.

Gold barely heard her as he stared at the large dent now visible on the back of his fender.

The next few minutes were a blur, but he vaguely remembered chewing out the woman in some less-than-gentlemanly language.

He had just paused to take a breath when the woman held up a hand. The glare she sent towards him dared him to interrupt her.

“I’m sure you have many more unpleasant things to say, but the truth is that I have insurance that can cover this and make your darling car just as good as new. Unfortunately, I’m already running late to meet someone and she’s going to do more than put a dent in my fender if I don’t get there soon.”

Gold waved at the dent in his own car. “I should think this takes priority, dearie.”

She let out a deep sigh. “Not that you care, but it’s my friend’s first date in a very long time and I promised I would be there.” She glanced down at the time on her phone. “Ugh, it’s going to take me at least fifteen minutes to get to Tony’s now.”

Gold kept his face a neutral mask, but inside his stomach did a flip. Now he knew where he had seen the lanky brunette before. In his concern over the Cadillac, he had been too distracted. But now he recognized her. She was Belle’s friend. And she was currently on her way to the restaurant where Belle would be having her date.

“Well, I would hate to get in the way of true love,” he said politely.

She lifted an eyebrow, clearly not buying his sudden change of heart. His estimation of the woman went up a notch.

“Why don’t you give me a call tomorrow, and we can sort this mess out then. After all, you don’t want to keep your friend waiting.”

She gave him a wary look, but didn’t argue. He gave her his number – conveniently forgetting to give her his name. She was in such a hurry that she either didn’t care or forgot to ask. She all but threw her business card at him before getting back in her car.

“Sorry again, buddy!” she called out.

Gold gave her a small nod. She may have dented his car, but she had given him something else as well.

The location of Belle’s date.

He waited until she had driven away before reaching into his pocket for his cell phone. He hit a button and waited patiently for the person on the other end to pick up.

“Hi, son,” Gold said with a smile. “How would you like to go out for a drink?”

 

Forty-five minutes later, Gold parked in front of Tony’s restaurant. Bae gave him a peculiar look as they got out of the car. “But you hate this place, papa.”

Gold shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his son roll his eyes.

“You once threatened to impale the waiter with your butter knife if he checked on us one more time.”

Gold shrugged, slightly embarrassed. “Perhaps I’ve mellowed.”

Bae snorted. “That’ll be the day.”

The two exchanged good-natured grins and walked into the restaurant. It was busy that evening and the only seating available was at the bar.

Bae started speaking to him, but Gold couldn’t hear a word his son was saying. “What’s that?” he asked.

“I said, maybe we should try somewhere else,” Bae said, raising his voice to be heard over the noise.

Gold shook his head. “The bar is fine with me.” He hurried over to grab a seat before Bae could argue with him.

They each ordered a beer and Bae began to tell what Gold supposed would have been a humorous story about a client if he had actually been listening. He still hadn’t spotted Belle amongst the crowd and it was making him jumpy. He was using the giant mirror behind the bar to covertly scan the crowd. It was hard to do it without _looking_ like he was doing it, and it took him some time before he finally found her.

She was sitting at a table in the back. Thankfully the lighting was decent where she sat, enabling Gold to get a good look at her.

Her hair was pulled to one side into a thick braid which hung down in front of her shoulder. She was wearing a dress he had never seen before. He wasn’t sure if it was peach or pink, but he did know that it looked lovely on her. The bottom of the dress was hidden behind the table, but he imagined it fell to mid-thigh, showing off her gorgeous legs.

After a moment or two, he finally noticed the other people at the table. Seated next to Belle was the woman from earlier, Ruby Lucas. He still was upset about the damage to his car, but he’d deal with that later. Across from Ruby sat a light-skinned African American man, whom Gold could only suppose was the woman’s date.

Gold didn’t pay him much attention. His eyes moved on almost immediately to the man sitting across from Belle.

The man had pale skin, his brown hair shaved close on the side, but longer on top. Gold was fairly sure the younger man would be taller than him if he stood up. He also wore a leather jacket and had what Gold considered incredibly big ears.

Gold didn’t like him one bit.

The four began laughing at something the young man had said. Gold gripped his beer tighter.

He was so caught up in watching them that it took him a while to realize that Bae had stopped talking. His eyes glanced over to Bae’s reflection and saw his son staring right back at him through the mirror.

“What’cha doin', papa?”

Gold struggled to set his beer down before he spilled it. “I was just – looking around the room,” he finished lamely.

“You’ve become a really rotten liar in your old age. I’ve been watching you glare at that corner table for several minutes now. So either you tell me why we’re really here or I’m leaving you to get arrested for being a peeping tom.”

“Fine,” Gold said hastily. “I’m just checking on someone I know. She had a blind date and – “

“Wait, _she_?” Bae held up a hand to stop his father. “Is this the woman from your office?”

Gold grit his teeth. “Maybe.” Sometimes he really hated having a clever son.

Bae let out a whoop of joy that caused several people at the bar to look over at them. Bae colored a bit and slapped a hand across his own mouth.

“If you’re done drawing attention to yourself, perhaps we can go now.” Gold laid a twenty on the bar and began to stand up. “I think I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one night.”

“Oh no, you don’t.” Bae laid a hand on his father’s arm to keep him from leaving. “I think you owe me a story about all of this.”

Gold sighed and sat down. He glanced back at the table where Belle was happily chatting away. “Well, it all started when that ditzy friend of hers backed into the Cadillac.”

He continued the story, telling Bae how he had recognized Ruby and heard her mention the location of the restaurant.

Bae just shook his head. “Oh, papa.”

“I know, I know! But I just had to get a look at – “

“The competition?” Bae interrupted.

Gold snorted. “I’d have to at least be in the running to call it that. So far I haven’t even entered the race.”

He glanced back at Belle’s table. Ruby and her date had disappeared outside, presumably for a smoke or to give the other couple some time alone.

When he saw Belle reach her hand out and lay it on top of her date’s hand, it was all he could do not to walk over there and punch the big eared man in the face.

“Papa, are you okay?”

Bae’s voice managed to pierce through his anger. He turned back to look at him, suddenly feeling very old and very foolish.

“Let’s go home, son. I don’t think it was a very good idea to come here tonight.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End notes: Thanks for sticking with me, folks! I know it's been a while since my last update, but the rest of the story is planned out pretty well from here on out. 
> 
> And don't worry; Belle only has eyes for one man. Like I said, things are not always as they appear. *cackles knowingly*


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle has a surprise visitor at lunch and Gold comes close to causing a scene in the lunch room.

The rest of the weekend was unbearable.

Gold wallowed in his self-pity, letting the two phone calls from Bae go straight to voicemail. He felt slightly guilty for doing so, but his embarrassment kept him from answering the calls. Realizing that his son would most likely continue until he got hold of him, Gold eventually sent him a quick text saying that he was fine, but busy.

Less than a minute later, his phone beeped at him, showing a message from Bae.

_You can’t wallow forever_

Gold picked up the phone and typed back a quick response.

_Watch me._

His bad mood continued throughout Monday. As determined as he was to remain focused on his work, he found himself glancing over his shoulder throughout the day, trying to catch a glimpse of Belle as she worked. Several times he saw her talking away happily on the phone. Each time he imagined the caller to be the young man from the bar, despite the fact that he knew Belle wouldn’t be making personal calls on the company line.

The only thing that comforted him was that Regina seemed to be just as miserable as he was at the moment. His attempt to ask her if she had lunched downstairs recently was met with a stony silence that even he was almost intimidated by.

By the time Tuesday rolled around, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to have lunch with Belle.

Well, of course he _wanted_ to have lunch with Belle. He wanted to have everything with Belle.

But what he couldn’t stand was the idea of her telling him about her successful date and how happy she was now that she had a new beau in her life.

In the end it was nothing but pure guilt that got him out of his chair and down to the cafeteria. If he was destined to only ever be Belle’s friend, then he would be the best friend she ever had. He had caused her enough grief in the past. He wasn’t about to cause her more.

Lost as he was in his thoughts as he approached the table, Gold didn’t realize that Belle wasn’t alone at first.

There was a man at the table with her. For a split second, he thought his rival from the other night had encroached on his lunch date.

But it took only a brief moment to realize that though the person was someone he recognized, it wasn’t Belle’s blind date.

“Bae?”

 

Belle glanced at the time on her phone. Rum was running late, which was a bit odd for him. She thought about texting him to ask, but remembered once again that they had never exchanged numbers.

It was times like this that Belle wasn’t surprised she was still single. She much preferred teasing Rum about his horrid taste in salad dressing than batting her eyelashes and being overly forward, like Ruby had suggested she act last Friday.

When Ruby and Billy had very obviously made up a phony excuse to leave her and Will together, Belle had felt compelled to be honest with her date. She wasn’t sure about his feelings, so she had tried to approach the topic gently but honestly, laying her hand on his and telling him that she just wasn’t ready to date at the moment.

She’d been happy to hear that he felt the same, having been slightly bullied into showing up as well. His on-again, off-again relationship with his last girlfriend had recently become off-again, and his head was still reeling a bit. They’d laughed over Ruby and Billy’s meddling and enjoyed the rest of the evening as friends.  

Belle smiled at her memories of that night before looking at the time on her phone again. Making a mental note to demand Rum’s phone number when he appeared, she glanced worriedly towards the elevator, only to see a young man with brown hair and kind brown eyes approach her.

There was something familiar about him but Belle couldn’t seem to put her finger on it. She studied him closely as he gave her a sheepish smile.

“Hi, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I was looking for my father,” he said. “I was hoping to surprise him for lunch. You haven’t happened to see a man in an outrageously well-tailored suit with brownish-gray hair?” He gave her an innocent grin. “I hear some women think he’s rather devilishly handsome, too.”  
  
Belle had opened her mouth to inquire if he was looking for Rum, but shut it again quickly after his last comment. She wasn’t sure how to answer the question without agreeing that she did indeed find Rum devilishly handsome.

The man saw her pause and she could swear he was holding back a chuckle. “Most people call him Mr. Gold, if that helps.”

“Yes!” Belle blurted out. “I mean, he should be down any moment. He and I usually eat together on Tuesdays.”

There was no doubt now. Belle was sure that the man was suppressing a laugh at her flustered behavior, his eyes twinkling merrily in his head. No wonder she had thought him familiar, Belle realized. He had the same mischievous twinkle as his father.

“I’m Bae,” he said, reaching out a hand to shake hers.

“Belle.” She shook his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about – “

“Bae?!”

The two turned to see Gold standing a few feet from the table, confusion and anger written all over his face.

“Hey, papa!” Bae said, throwing his hands up in greeting. “I thought I’d stop in and surprise you.”

Gold’s eyes glanced back and forth between Belle and Bae and his lower jaw twitched. “You certainly did.” His eyes settled back on Belle. “Hello, Belle. I hope my boy was behaving himself.”

“He was a perfect gentleman, Rum. You taught him well.”

Gold smiled, but Belle noticed that it didn’t reach his eyes. “Well, I’m sorry to have to cancel our lunch, Belle, but – “

“Oh, don’t do that!” Bae exclaimed. “I’m the one intruding. I should have checked with you first and made sure you were free.”  
  
“Yes, you should have,” Gold said evenly.

Belle could feel the tension in the air, though she wasn’t sure exactly what had caused it. From what Rum had been telling her recently, his relationship with his son had never been better. Hoping she wasn’t about to set off some kind of emotional land mine, she cleared her throat.

“You’re more than welcome to join us, Bae.”

A big smile came to Bae’s face. “Why I would love to! Thank you, Belle.”

For a moment, she was sure Rum was going to argue. But instead, he merely nodded, before walking towards the cafeteria ahead of them.

If she had thought things were awkward before, they only grew more uncomfortable during lunch. She and Bae made small talk while Gold glared at his soup between mouthfuls. Any inquiry into his weekend was met with a grunt or one-word reply.

Belle was completely at a loss to what was going on. Despite her attempts to smooth things over, they just seemed to be getting worse.

“So, how did you two meet anyway?” Bae asked after a rather long stretch of silence.

Belle saw Rum shoot a warning glance at his son, but the question had been aimed at her, so she gathered up her courage and answered.

“It’s actually a rather funny story, isn’t it, Rum?”

He grunted, avoiding her eyes.

“Do tell.” Bae’s eyes twinkled again, and Belle found herself wondering how the same pair of eyes could be so delighted in one head while looking so miserable in the other.

“Well, despite our parking spots being right next to each other, we didn’t actually run into each other for two whole years!” Belle decided not to mention the fact that their windows faced each other across the plaza. She’d prefer to come out of this lunch _not_ looking like a crazy stalker to Rum’s son. Inclining her head towards Bae, she continued, “You might not believe this, but your father tends to work rather late nights, far beyond the hours mere mortals keep.”

Out of the corner of her eyes, she thought she saw Rum’s mouth quirk up a bit at the edge after her comment.

“My papa a workaholic?” Bae gasped. “How shocking.”

Belle nodded. “Honestly, if I hadn’t stayed late for the Christmas party, we might have never met.” She gave Rum an encouraging smile. “I hope you won’t hold a grudge against the holiday because of it.”

This time he gave her a soft smile, his eyes losing a bit of the wariness in them. “No, I rather think not.”

She held his gaze for a few moments and nearly forgot about Bae’s presence until he cleared his throat awkwardly.

“So Belle, do you have a boyfriend?“

Both Belle and Gold turned to face Bae. She blinked. “Um, I don’t actually.”

“Oh, well I just thought you might have some good dating advice. It just so happens that I’ve been trying to convince this stubborn fellow to get back into the dating world. Do you have any ideas on – “

“Bae!” Gold interrupted.

“What? I think Belle would have some great insight into your ideal woman.”

“My ideal woman is none of your business, Bae,” Gold growled.

Despite the mounting tension at the table, Belle gave an internal cheer at their words. She couldn’t wait to tell Ruby off about her gay theory.  

“Clearly this is a sore subject,” Belle said, trying to head off the beginnings of a fight. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“It’s not a sore subject,” Gold said testily. “It’s just not a very interesting one.”

“Then there’s no reason why Belle can’t answer the question then,” Bae said pointedly.

Rum held his hands up in mock surrender. “Fine. Go ahead, Belle.”

Belle shook her head. “I don’t want to cause trouble…”

“No, please do enlighten us.” Gold turned his eyes toward her and she saw an emotion she couldn’t quite place in them. “Tell me what I want.”

Belle’s eyes dropped to the table top. She licked her lips and racked her brain for something to say that wouldn’t give away her feelings.

“I suppose – well, I suppose you’d want an intelligent woman. Someone who could appreciate your wit and dry humor.” Belle smiled to herself as she warmed to the conversation. “Someone who would enjoy your rather cutting stories about your clients. And of course, she’d have to admire how dashing you look in your suits.”

She looked up to see Rum staring at her, his face suddenly pale.

“Rum, are you alright? I’m sorry if I said something – “

“Bae, didn’t you say Henry had a recital today?” Rum said abruptly, turning to look at his son.

 “Did I?” Bae asked, his voice hesitant.

“I’m very sure you did, son.”

Glancing back and forth between them, Belle was sure she was witnessing some sort of non-verbal communication, honed after many years to a state of near telepathy.

“Yes,” Bae finally agreed, the word being drawn out slowly. “I believe I did.”

“Perhaps we should go then.” Gold stood up, picking up his tray. “Belle.” He inclined his head towards her briefly in farewell. “See you next Tuesday.”

“Nice to meet you,” Bae managed to say before hurrying after his father. “We should do this again.”

Feeling confused as ever, Belle watched the two leave, the son barely managing to keep up with his father.

She fell back in her chair and let out an exasperated sigh.

What had _that_ all been about, she wondered.

 

Bae scrambled to catch up with his father, who was striding determinedly down the hall towards his office. They had spent the elevator ride in silence, his father pointedly ignoring him.

“Papa, would you slow down? This is ridiculous!”

Gold whirled around, anger evident in his every feature and muscle. “As was that little display of yours downstairs. Exactly what were you hoping to accomplish there?”

“I found out she’s not dating the guy from the bar.” When Gold sighed, Bae threw his hands up in the air. “You should be pleased about this!”

“Just because she’s not dating him doesn’t mean she’ll suddenly be interested in me. And what was that stunt you were trying to pull by asking her about ‘my ideal woman’?”

“Wasn’t that obvious?” Bae gave him a skeptical look. “You do realize she described herself, right?”

Gold sighed. He was tired and embarrassed and as much as he wanted to stay angry with his son, he didn’t really have it in him.

“Let’s just call it a day, shall we?”

His son nodded and gave him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. “Don’t give up yet, papa. I think you’d be missing out on something really great.”

Gold merely shook his head. “Good bye, son.”

Bae gave him a sad smile and turned to walk away. He only made it a few steps before his father’s voice halted him.

“Bae, if you ever do anything like that again, I’ll disown you.”

His son looked back over his shoulder, a slightly impish smile on his face. “Of course not, papa.”

 

Belle was throwing her now soggy salad away in the garbage. She hadn’t felt like finishing the last few bites after Rum and Bae’s abrupt departure.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t see Bae walk up to her until he tapped her on her shoulder. She jumped and barely managed to grab her iced tea before it spilled on him.

“Whoa, sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Belle shrugged, embarrassed. “I was a bit distracted, that’s all.”

“Yeah, I can tell I didn’t make the best first impression.” When Belle opened her mouth to argue, he held up a hand. “Don’t deny it; I know I stuck my foot in it. Which is why I’d like a second chance.”

“Second chance?”

“Actually, you’d be helping me out. I want to throw a surprise birthday party for my dad in a couple weeks. I was thinking maybe you could help me with the guest list, make sure I don’t invite his arch nemesis of the office or anything.”

Belle giggled. “Well, I’m not sure if Regina is his arch nemesis or his friend. I think it depends on the day.”

He clapped his hands. “Wonderful. Maybe we can even get the café to cater it.”

They quickly exchanged contact information. Before he put his phone away, Belle blurted out, “Actually, can you give me your father’s number?” Seeing the look of surprise on his face, she rushed to explain. “It’s just I keep forgetting to ask each week and then today when he was running late, I had no way to contact him.“

“It’s not a problem, Belle.” He flashed her a bright smile before giving her the phone number. “I know for a fact that my dad wouldn’t mind you having his number.”

“Well, as long as you’re sure,” she said somewhat hesitantly.

“Believe me, I can’t think of a single person in this building that he’d rather give it to.”

For a moment, Belle felt that she had missed a hidden meaning in his tone. But Bae was staring at her with a perfectly innocent expression, so she chalked it up to what was already turning out to be a very confusing day.

At least she had accomplished one thing. She finally had Rum’s number.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two people prompted Bae stopping in to visit Gold and running into Belle in the cafeteria. Thanks to regalcoquiprincess and the anon who both came up with such a fun idea! I wanted it to be a surprise, so I didn’t include the prompts at the beginning.
> 
> Also, this chapter is dedicated to robertmarch82 who inspired me to get off my lazy butt and write this next chapter. Thanks for the encouragement!


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle and Gold begin texting. The night of the party kicks off with an unplanned surprise.

Belle had avoided telling Ruby that things weren’t going to work out with Will for a few days. But by the time Wednesday lunch rolled around, she was tired of trying to dodge her friend’s probing questions.

As she expected, Ruby wasn’t overly happy with her.

“What was wrong with him? You guys seemed to get along fine!”

“He’s just not my type.”

Ruby snorted. “Honey, the bad boy with a heart of gold is everybody’s type.” She got a slightly dazed look in her eyes. “And he even wears a leather jacket.”

“Then why don’t you date him?” Belle asked, pointing her fork at Ruby.

“Because I’m not the one who desperately needs to get laid!”

A rather strangled choking noise alerted them to the fact that they were not alone. Their heads swung in union to see an uncomfortable-looking Gold standing next to their table.

 “Uh, hi,” he said.

“Rum!” Belle squeaked. “What a surprise!” Her hands floundered for a moment before she gestured to a seat next to them. “Did you want to join us?”

He shook his head. “No, I just wanted to speak with you. Do you mind if I borrow her for a moment, Miss Lucas?”

Belle’s head swung to look at Ruby. “Wait, you two know each other?”

Ruby smiled mirthlessly at him. “We may have bumped into each other recently.”

For a moment, Belle thought Rum was about to argue the point, but he seemed to think better of it. An awkward silence started to build until Ruby broke it, hopping up from her chair. “I was thinking of getting some more Diet Coke anyway. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Grabbing her glass, Ruby strode off towards the soda machines in the cafeteria.

Rum fidgeted. “I see I’ve come at a bad time.”

“No, no, it’s fine. She’s just – ” Belle shrugged. “She’s like that sometimes.”

She motioned for him to sit, but he waved her off. “Thank you, but I really just came for a quick word. I didn’t want to wait a full week to apologize for my son’s behavior yesterday.”

Shaking her head, Belle gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “You have nothing to apologize for. I think he only wants what’s best for you.”

Rum gave a sad smile. “I know,” he said, though she thought he was saying it more to himself than her.

“Actually, he did end up coming back and apologizing himself.”

“Oh?” Rum raised an eyebrow at her. “Did he behave himself long enough to do so?”

Belle rolled her eyes. “Of course. And I was glad he did because you’ve been holding out on me.”

Reaching over to grab her phone, she missed the look of panic that flashed through Gold’s eyes. She held up her phone triumphantly. “But now I got it!”

“Got what?” Rum’s voice sounded strained.

“Your phone number!”

“My – oh,” he said, visibly relaxing.

She gave him a strange look. “What did you think I was going to say?”

“What? Um, nothing.” He started patting down his pockets absentmindedly until he finally found his phone. “I suppose it would be a good precaution to exchange numbers.” Fishing his phone out, he blinked when it lit up, showing a new message.

_Hi_

Rum smiled. He glanced back at Belle before quickly pressing a few buttons on his phone. A moment later Belle’s phone lit up as well.

_Hi to you too._

They looked at each other and both chuckled. They were still smiling at each other when Ruby returned to the table, her eyes glancing back and forth between them.

Rum put his phone away and nodded at the two women. “Well, I won’t interrupt you ladies any longer. Have a good day.”

Belle gave him a small wave goodbye before turning to find Ruby looking at her, eyebrows raised as she calmly sipped from her straw.

“What?”

Ruby took her time replying, waiting until Gold was out of earshot. “What was that all about, missy?”

“He wanted to apologize for our fiasco of a lunch yesterday. His son joined us and things got a bit awkward. But as confusing as the whole lunch ended up being, I thought you should know that Rum is not, in fact, gay.” Belle stuck her tongue out at Ruby. “So there.”

“Congratulations,” Ruby said sarcastically. “You’ve managed to find a straight man who knows how to color coordinate.”

Belle frowned at her friend. “What’s going on with you? You’ve been acting weird ever since Rum showed up.”

Ruby sighed. “Okay, fine. You know how I told you Friday that I was late because I had gotten into a fender bender with some asshole? Well, I was in such a hurry at the time that I didn’t realize who the guy was until I was almost to the restaurant.” She paused for dramatic emphasis. “He drove a Cadillac.”

“Ah, so that’s how you two met.” Belle’s frown deepened. “He really needs to work on his first impressions,” she mumbled.

“I wasn’t positive, but I had to call him over the weekend to sort out the insurance, so then I found out for sure.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Belle asked, her confusion evident in her voice. She had known Ruby for a long time and it wasn’t like her to keep secrets. She was surprised Rum hadn’t mentioned the accident either. Then again, there hadn’t really been a good opportunity to bring it up while Bae was having lunch with them yesterday.

“I wanted you to move on,” Ruby said wearily. “I didn’t think he felt the same way about you, but…”

“But what?” Belle prompted.

Ruby took another long sip of her drink, gazing at Gold as he got onto the elevator. “But I think I might have been wrong.”

 

Though Gold had apologized for his son’s behavior, he had still worried that things might be weird between him and Belle. But his fears seemed to be unfounded as the next couple weeks went by as normal.

Well, better than normal in some ways. Belle and he had started texting.

He knew it wasn’t as if they were sexting or anything – not that he would even know _how_ to do that – but Gold couldn’t help but smile every time his phone showed a new message from Belle.

His favorite conversation so far had been when Belle had drunkenly texted him during her Girls’ Only Valentine’s Day party. They’d exchanged a number of texts making fun of the commercial holiday and she’d given him a particularly catty running commentary on the rom com she and her friends had been watching, which he had found particularly entertaining to read.

Gold had been doubly glad he hadn’t gotten her anything to mark the occasion after that conversation. It seemed clear to him that Belle wouldn’t have appreciated flowers or chocolate from him.

As busy as things were at the office, he only realized his birthday was coming up a few days beforehand. In the past, he hadn’t done much to mark the occasion since there had been no one around that he particularly wanted to celebrate with. That of course would change now that Bae and his family were in town. He made a mental note to ask Bae about their weekend plans.

A smile spread over his lips as he realized the opportunity that lay before him. He now had the perfect excuse to spend time with Belle outside of work.

Gold took his time writing the message, not wanting to come across as overly forward in any way. Then he held his breath and hit send before he could think better of it.

_My birthday is on Friday. If you’re free, would you perhaps care to join me for dinner? There’s a new sushi restaurant that I think you might enjoy. The rest of my family is anti-sushi, so I haven’t managed to make it there yet._

It didn’t take long for her to respond.

_Sorry, I have plans already :( Some other time?_

Gold felt his heart sink. Of course she already had plans.

He read his message over again, and realized with a grimace that despite his careful wording, she had probably thought he was asking her out on a date.

He sighed. No wonder she had said no.

 

It was the day of Rum’s surprise party and Belle didn’t think she could be any more nervous. She and Bae had been texting for weeks to sort out all the details. Inviting Rum’s coworkers without him knowing had been challenging, to say the least. Her communication with Regina had been almost painful. She still didn’t think the other woman had forgiven her for her role in bringing Regina face-to-face with Daniel, despite the fact that it had been Regina who had been intruding upon her lunch date with Rum that day.

Belle had decided to stay late at work that afternoon,  rather than drive all the way home through rush-hour traffic only to have to turn right back around again. She’d brought her dress for the party to work and changed in the bathroom.

The dress was a dark shade of hunter green and seemed to bring out curves she didn’t even know existed. She admired herself in the mirror, wondering if Rum would notice that she had chosen his favorite color to wear that night. Her hair was a little frizzy and she wished she could do something more than spritz it with some hair spray, but she thought it at least looked presentable. She gave her makeup a quick touch up and headed back to the office.

She passed by Ruby’s desk where her friend seemed to be laughing somewhat conspiratorially with Jefferson.

“What mayhem are you two up to tonight?” Belle asked, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at them in mock disapproval.

The two stood up quickly and Belle couldn’t help but think that they _had_ been up to something. Ruby may have been able to pull off an innocent face, but Jefferson’s grin just screamed mischief.

“All ready for your party then, French?” Jefferson asked. “I’m sure Gold is going to be beside himself when he sees how utterly ravishing you look.”

Belle gave Ruby an exasperated look. “Ruby!”

The tall brunette held her hands up in surrender. “He’s my boss. I had no choice.” She smiled. “Besides, he had been curious how things were going. It’s hard to forget The Invasion of the Giant Fruit Basket.”

Belle shook her head and walked past them, ignoring their snickers as she grabbed her purse and her coat. “Have a good night, guys,” she said as she walked towards the main door again. “Try not to get into too much trouble.”

“No promises,” Jefferson said.

Belle rolled her eyes and made her way downstairs. The air was bitterly cold as she stepped outside and she hugged her jacket to herself a bit more tightly.

She smiled when she saw Rum’s car still parked next to hers. Bae hadn’t told her how he was planning to get his father out of the office in time for the party, but she had no doubt he’d come up with something. Belle still wasn’t sure how well Rum was going to take to the idea of twenty or so people jumping out and yelling “Surprise!” at him. She supposed Bae knew his father better than she did though.

Belle checked the time on her phone and winced. She knew she was already running a little behind after having fussed over her appearance in the mirror for so long. But as long as she didn’t hit any major traffic, she figured she should be fine.

Approaching her car, Belle reached into her purse to grab her keys. Usually her fingers automatically found them, but not this time. She frowned and rummaged around inside, trying to peer into the purse in the dimly lit garage. Grumbling to herself, she placed it on her car’s hood and began taking items out, hoping she hadn’t been stupid enough to leave her keys in the office. Coming up empty, she grabbed her phone and called Ruby.

“Hey, Belle.”

“Ruby, can you look on my desk for my keys? I can’t find them.”

“Sure thing.” Belle heard Ruby’s footsteps as she walked into her office. She also thought she heard Jefferson giggling in the background, but that was hardly uncommon. “Sorry, Belle. They’re not in here.”

“Did you check the floor?”

“I can honestly tell you that they are nowhere in your office.”

“Damn,” Belle cursed. She must have locked them in her car somehow, she realized. It had been years since she had been absentminded enough to do that.

“Ruby, could you do me a huge favor and drive me to the party? I’m already running late.”  
  
“I’m sorry, but Jefferson and I are working late on that presentation for Monday,” Ruby said. “But don’t worry. I have an idea. Stay right there.”

Belle didn’t have a chance to ask before Ruby hung up. She contemplated going back inside, but remembered her friend had said to wait there. She wondered if Ruby knew someone in the building who could help her get her car open. There was always the chance that someone from Rum’s office hadn’t left for the party yet, but she couldn’t risk Rum figuring things out.

Several more minutes passed and Belle was on the verge of calling Ruby back when she saw someone striding towards her.

Crap, Belle thought as the figure came closer.

It was the birthday boy himself.

 

Ruby hung up on Belle without giving her a chance to reply. Then she picked up her office phone and dialed a number. Jefferson looked on amusedly while she spoke with the person on the other end.

 “And?” he asked curiously once she had finished.

“He’s going to go down and get her. Poor thing sounded so worried.” Ruby looked Jefferson straight in the eye. “You do realize we’re horrible people, right?”

They looked at each other a moment longer before bursting into giggles.

“It’s not our fault that those two can’t get their act together,” he said with a smirk. “I think of us more as their guardian angels. Or perhaps cupids.”

Ruby grabbed the car keys that Jefferson had been playing with. “Well, if this doesn’t get them together, we’re going to have to do something really extreme.”


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s Gold’s surprise party and everyone seems to have loose lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by the following prompts:
> 
> From Anon: I love We've never met. Those two dorks need to get to smooshy kissing stat. I also have a prompt: What if Belle's car doesn't start in the office parking lot on a Friday night...he sees his chance to be her knight in shining Armani (I cannot believe I just said that.)
> 
> ashadeofpemberley said: We've Never Met Prompt: Jefferson finds out of his friend's little mishap with Belle and decides to help them along...(Note: I included the prompt this chapter since I didn’t want to spoil the cliffhanger of the previous one.)

It took a moment before Belle was able to get her voice to work properly again.

Seeing Rum in the parking garage was causing her to flashback to the first time they had ever met. Except unlike that time, she hadn’t wanted to run into him tonight.

It was hard to surprise someone at a birthday party if you arrived _after_ they did.

“Rum!” Belle exclaimed as he approached her. “What are you doing here?”

She couldn’t help but notice the pleased expression on his face as he answered. He also seemed slightly out of breath, as if he had ran part of the way there.

“Your friend Miss Lucas called me and said you were having problems with your car.” He gestured to the Prius. “She asked if I would mind giving you a ride home.”

Belle let out a nervous laugh. “You don’t have to do that. It’s fine, really. I’ll call a taxi.”

She was going to kill Ruby when this was over. Probably Jefferson, too. If Belle didn’t know any better, she’d think they had stolen her keys in the first place just to set this whole ridiculous plan up. But she doubted they had a long enough attention span to plot something that involved.

“Nonsense.” Rum waved off her excuses with one black-gloved hand. “I’m happy to help.”

He walked over to the passenger side of his car and opened the door for her. Under normal circumstances, Belle might have enjoyed the chivalrous action, but she was too busy racking her brain for a way to politely refuse. When no viable excuses came to mind, Belle gave him a meek smile and climbed into the car.  

She sat there as he walked around to the other side, her mind desperately trying to come up with a new plan – one that would get her to his party without ruining the surprise.

 “So, where to?” he asked once he had slid into his own seat and started the engine. “I know you said you had plans tonight.”

“Actually, those fell through.” Belle thought of Rum’s earlier invitation for dinner that night, an offer that had been almost physically painful to refuse. “How about I make you dinner at your house instead? It is your birthday after all.”

She saw Rum swallow hard. “You want to come home with me?”

Wearing a grin that felt overly bright, Belle nodded. “I’ve always wanted to see your house anyway. You’ve told me so much about it.”

“Um, alright.” Rum turned to face the steering wheel. “My place then.”

As he backed out of the parking spot, Belle let out a small sigh of relief. That had been easier than she’d expected. But she was smart enough to not tempt fate by questioning _why_ it had been so easy – at least not yet.

They set off down the road. Just as Belle was realizing that she needed to give Bae a head’s up, Rum’s phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his suit pocket and answered.

“Bae, I’ll have to call you back. I’m driving.”

He paused as Bae responded. Belle pretended to be watching the scenery out the window as she tried very hard to not look like she was listening. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much of an act as she couldn’t quite hear what Bae was saying on the other end.

“Uh – I think I’ll have to pass on that, son.” Belle saw Rum’s eyes dart over to her for a moment. “I have plans already.”

This time Belle could definitely hear Bae. She winced and brought her phone out, using her body to block it from Rum’s view as she typed out a quick message.

_Long story, but Rum and I are on our way to the house in his car. Be there soon._

She hoped Bae would see the message before he gave anything away. A few moments later she heard a laugh from the other end of Rum’s phone. She watched as a puzzled look crossed Rum’s face at Bae’s outburst.

The call ended shortly after with the men making plans to get together for dinner the next day. As soon as they hung up, Belle got a text from Bae.

_You owe me a story_

Belle rolled her eyes. If they managed to pull this party off, she’d happily laugh with him over the whole matter.

 

Gold had never believed in making birthday wishes. But if he had, he was pretty sure he couldn’t have wished for anything better than this.

When Ruby had called, he’d jumped at the chance to play Belle’s knight in shining armor. He’d made it down to the parking lot in record time, feeling fairly smug at the prospect of getting to drive Belle to her destination for the night.

His brain had all but short-circuited when Belle had told him that she wanted to go to his place. As much as Gold tried to tell himself that it didn’t necessarily mean _anything_ , his mind couldn’t help but draw rather favorable conclusions.

He knew he wasn’t imagining the strange tension in the car. It filled up the small space between them, and Belle, who hadn’t been ill at ease around him for months, was biting her lip worriedly and tapping her fingers on her leg.

“What were you thinking of cooking?” he asked after the silence had gone on for too long. “Should we drop by the grocery store first?’

“No!” Belle said abruptly, causing him to nearly jump in his seat. “I mean, there’s really no need. I’m sure we can figure something out.” Belle licked her lips self-consciously.

“Yes,” Gold managed to agree belatedly, his eyes fixated on Belle’s lips. “I’m uh, sure we will.”

Thinking they would settle back into silence, he was surprised when Belle instead began a constant stream of chatter that lasted all the way to his house.

She fell silent as he pulled into the driveway and parked the car. Her eyes grew wide as she examined the one-story ranch house. She let out a tiny giggle.

“You didn’t tell me it was p – “

“Salmon-colored?” he finished for her. “I suppose it slipped my mind.”

Belle turned towards him, looking more relaxed and like herself than she had all night. “Salmon-colored?” Her mouth split open into a grin. “Is the inside _salmon-colored_ as well?”

“I guess you’ll just have to wait and find out,” he said, suddenly feeling much more confident than he had during the car ride.

Even in the dim light of the car, he could see her eyes twinkling with laughter. “Well, I hope you’re going to give me the full tour.”

His next reply died on his lips as he realized that a full tour would include his bedroom. The thought was enough to tie his tongue up properly, leaving him no choice but to nod and say simply, “Of course.”

Realizing it would probably be best if he got her inside as quickly as possible – both for politeness sake and to prevent himself from jumping her in the car – Gold calmly got out of the Cadillac before hurrying to Belle’s side as she began to open the passenger door.

“Please, let me,” he said, holding the door open and offering his other hand to help her stand.

Her hand was tiny and warm and _oh so soft_ , Gold thought to himself. He didn’t want to let it go. 

“Why thank you, kind sir.” Belle gave him a small curtsey after coming to her feet, but did not withdraw her hand from his grasp.

“The privilege is mine, m’lady.” He gave her a slight bow in return, keeping her hand held firmly in his own.

Her laughter rang pleasantly in his ears and he saw the opportunity to prolong their contact. He dropped her hand and offered her his arm instead. “Shall we?”

She took his arm shyly. With only the street lamps for light, Gold wondered if he was only imagining the blush spreading across her cheeks.

They began the walk up to the porch, pausing at the front door. Now that Belle was seconds away from coming into his home with him, Gold felt his nerves came back in full force. He patted down his pockets for his keys, which he was sure had been in his hand only moments ago.

Belle had let go of his arm when they had reached the front door, but now she reached out a hand, laying it on his arm.

Gold stiffened immediately.

“Is everything alright?” she asked, looking at him worriedly.

He swallowed hard, turning on the step. “I’m just really glad you’re here, Belle.”

Her returning smile lit up her entire face and Gold had just enough sense left in his skull to not kiss her on his front step.

“Me, too.”

His hands were shaking and it took him a moment or two longer than usual to unlock the door. She followed him into the house and he took a deep breath as he reached to flip on the light. “Actually Belle, there’s been something I’ve been wanting to confess – “

“SURPRISE!”

Gold jerked back in surprise, barely managing to avoid colliding into Belle who was right behind him. He looked around the crowd of people standing in his living room, his eyes straying from his family at the front of the group to Belle, who had made her way to stand beside him.

“Happy birthday?” She gave him a hesitant smile, her eyes searching his for a reaction.

He felt his face grow pale as he realized what he had almost done. Forcing a smile to his lips, he turned back to the crowd as Bae and Henry ran forward to hug him.

“Happy birthday, Grandpa!”

He hugged them back while his mind whirled at the situation he now found himself in.

It had all been a trick, he realized. Miss Lucas’s call, Belle’s car troubles, her wanting to go “back to his place” – it had all been a ploy to get him home for the party. Gold felt like a chair had been kicked out from underneath him.

Despite his inner turmoil, he was damned sure he wasn’t going to let it show. Henry and Bae were beaming up at him excitedly and there was a room full of guests to think about.

Gold slipped on his best lawyer smile and said, with all the enthusiasm he could muster, “I hope this means there’s cake.”

 

Belle watched as Rum moved around the room. He greeted his guests with a smile and a handshake, nodding his thanks at their birthday wishes, but Belle could tell that his heart wasn’t in it.

He seemed miserable and Belle couldn’t help but feel partially responsible. She had helped Bae to organize the party despite her hunch that Rum wouldn’t appreciate a big gathering on his special day. If anything had been a hint that he would prefer a more intimate celebration, it should have been his invitation for her to join him for a small, quiet birthday dinner.

A sigh left her lips and she added a few more grapes to her plate from the food bar.

If she was honest, Rum’s obvious displeasure of the party wasn’t the only thing that had her down. There had been a moment, right before he had flipped on the lights, when Belle had been sure he was about to say something.

At the time, she had been utterly convinced that he had been on the verge of telling her that he had feelings for her. There had been a nervous energy in the car as they had neared his house. As they walked up his front steps, she had practically felt it radiating off of Rum in waves.

The hair on the back of her neck had stood on end and Belle had felt sure that the moment she had been waiting for had finally come. She had momentarily forgotten about the people inside the house, her heart hammering loudly in her chest.

But whatever he had been about to say had been cut off by the yell of “Surprise!” that had erupted from the room. Belle herself had jumped at the noise, only barely recovering herself in time as Rum turned towards her with a look of shock plastered onto his face.

She’d seen the moment when a polite mask had slipped across his features to cover his surprise. Her stomach had twisted uncomfortably. Whatever his confession, it had been lost in that moment.

Belle felt as if something infinitely precious had slipped through her fingers.

“Hi there,” a voice said, interrupting her thoughts.

Belle turned to see Bae’s son, Henry, looking up at her.

“You’re grandpa’s friend Belle, right? My dad said you were coming.”

“I am,” Belle said conspiratorially. “You must be Henry.”

Henry gave her a shy smile that Belle swore he must have inherited from his grandfather.

“Are you Grandpa Gold’s girlfriend?” he asked.

Belle felt her mouth make an “o” shape. “N-no,” she stuttered. “We’re just friends. From work. We’re work friends…”

She trailed off as Henry continued to look at her curiously.

“My dad said grandpa wanted to be your boyfriend. Do you want to be his girlfriend?”

Had there been a slight wind in the room, she was sure it would have knocked her over.  
  
“Your dad said that?” Belle’s voiced trembled.

Henry nodded. “He was telling mom the other day. He didn’t think I was listening but I had come in to get a movie.” He gestured towards the bookcase full of movies nearby.

“A movie,” Belle repeated faintly. “Right.”

She felt a bit lightheaded. The whole conversation was getting a bit surreal. Actually, the whole night had been, if she was honest. Not only had she talked Rum into taking her back to his house without the tiniest bit of trouble, but he had said he had something to confess to her. Now Henry was telling her that Bae seemed to think Rum liked her. Though she didn’t necessarily trust Bae to always have the greatest insight into his father – this failed party was a clear example of that – there seemed to be a lot of evidence pointing in her favor.

Rum might just like her.

She wondered if it was possible to faint of happiness before she belatedly remembered the definition of the word “swoon”.

“Sooo,” Belle said slowly. “What else has your dad been saying?”

 

Gold threw back a mouthful of punch as he glared at the assembled crowd.

The party’s guests were a combination of his work colleagues and a few of his long-time clients. He could see Ursula and Cruella looking bored as they drank his gin, no doubt criticizing everyone’s looks from their comfy spot on the loveseat. They weren’t the only ones imbibing; laughter and drink poured forth in abundance all around the room. He just hoped that no one got sloppy enough to make a mess.

If they did, he was going to make Bae clean it up.

As his eyes skimmed the room, he saw Regina talking to a man in a forest green business suit. His hair was slicked back and he held himself with an air of lazy confidence that Gold had always found downright annoying.

Robin Loxley had been a client of Mills & Gold for years and Gold had detested him from the very beginning. The man was well known for having sticky fingers, both when it came to his professional and personal life. No one had ever been able to prove anything, but Gold had heard the whispered rumors over the years. What made it even more unfortunate was that the man’s wife seemed to be a genuinely good person, though her philandering husband had made her a laughing stock behind her back.

Gold scanned the room quickly, but saw no sign of Marian. It seemed that Loxley had come to the party _without_ his wife.

Regina laughed at something Loxley said and leaned a bit closer to the bastard than Gold was comfortable with. She had personally taken over Loxley’s cases several weeks prior. Although Gold had been immensely grateful at the time, he now worried that perhaps it hadn’t been the wisest move. Loxley had a gift for charming the ladies and it seemed Regina was not immune to his spell.

He’d have to have a talk with her next week, he supposed. Drop a few subtle hints reminding her to keep things professional. If anyone knew the dangers of becoming infatuated with someone in the workplace, it was him.

Gold’s eyes flickered to where Belle was listening attentively as Henry showed her his extensive collection of Marvel films. She looked lovely tonight and for a moment, he indulged himself in the idea that she belonged there, and that after they finally got everyone out the door, they would both flop down exhaustedly on the couch together and enjoy the peaceful silence.

His daydream was interrupted by his son, who walked over and handed him a glass of wine with one hand while removing his half-empty glass with the other.

“Drinking punch on your birthday, papa?” he asked incredulously. “That’s no way to celebrate.” Bae indicated the wine glass that Gold now held. “Drink up. I’m sure you’ll need some liquid courage before the night is over.”

Gold glared at him. “I can’t believe you did this to me. And you involved Belle! What were you thinking?”

“I thought a party might be fun.”

“Have you met me?” Gold asked deadpan.

Bae held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Okay, you got me. It seemed a good way to get you two together.” He nodded towards the wine again. “I figured the alcohol would probably help, too.”

Feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on, Gold pinched the bridge of his nose. “You have no idea what an idiot I almost made of myself, Bae. I was about a second away from ruining everything.”

His son reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I’m sure you’re just imagining things. Don’t worry; things are going to get better, I promise.”

“Well, I don’t see how this night could get any – “

The sound of glass shattering brought him up short. They both turned their heads towards the kitchen where raised voices could be heard, including a shrill shriek that Gold realized he recognized all too well.

“Bae,” Gold said slowly, glancing over at the food table along the wall, “please tell me you didn’t hire the caterers from my building.”

His son’s eyes were wide as they both heard another crash from the kitchen and Regina’s creative use of several expletives. “Um, maybe?”

Gold let out a deep sigh and promised himself that he was never _ever_ having another birthday again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: I hope I haven’t alienated any Robin Hood fans! I thought it might be fun to explore a sleazier version of our favorite thief in this story!


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rum’s party continues to be full of surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just two more chapters after this, folks! Things are finally starting to come together for these two dorks. Also, I made a change to Regina and Daniel’s backstory in Chapter Seven. The infamous accident that drove them apart is now a car accident instead.

Though the party had started off somewhat awkwardly, Belle was actually starting to enjoy herself. Henry had proven to be just as adorable as Rum had described him and the boy seemed to have taken a shine to her as well.

They had just begun what she suspected was going to be a long conversation about Harry Potter when she heard the commotion from the kitchen.

Belle jumped as she heard glass break and saw several of the other guests do the same. It didn’t take long for her to recognize the voice of the woman shouting.

“Here we go again,” she mumbled.

“What’s going on in there?” Henry leaned around her to look towards the kitchen. “Are people fighting?”

Another crash came, followed by a loud suggestion from Regina that sounded rather painful as well as physically impossible.

“What’d she say?” Henry asked. “Shove his _what_ – ”

Thankfully they were interrupted before Henry could finish that question. Regina stormed out of the kitchen looking murderous. She stomped off towards the front door, exchanging a few words with Bae and Rum that Belle couldn’t hear, before grabbing her coat from the hall closet and exiting the house with a dramatic slam of the door.

A collective sigh of relief passed through the room. Belle saw Bae begin to walk towards her and Henry while Rum slipped into the kitchen.

“Excuse me,” she said before taking off towards the kitchen herself. She paused just outside the open door when she saw Rum and a blonde woman talking to Daniel. A couple caterers were already starting to clean up the mess.

Regina had certainly been busy during her tirade, Belle thought. It was almost impressive how much destruction the woman had been able to accomplish in such a short time.

Bits of Rum’s cake were currently decorating Daniel’s face. The rest was splattered across the kitchen floor.

“I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Gold,” Daniel said. “I tried to explain why I was here, but she didn’t really let me get a word in edgewise.”

Rum snorted. “Sounds like her alright.” He eyed the fallen cake sadly. “That was one of the few things I was actually looking forward to,” he added quietly, as if talking to himself.

The blonde woman cleared her throat and gently elbowed Rum, who seemed to come back to himself.

“I uh, apologize for Regina’s behavior,” he said. “I know this wasn’t your fault, Daniel.”

Daniel looked relieved. “Thank you.” He wiped his face off with a towel and then gestured towards the mess that the other caterers were cleaning up. “I guess I better get back to it.”

Rum nodded and turned to leave. The woman patted Daniel on the shoulder. “I’ll make sure Bae includes a big tip,” she said sympathetically.

They finally noticed Belle on their way out. Rum did a double take when he saw her.  

“Belle, I didn’t see you there.” He ran a hand through his hair awkwardly. “I’d like you to meet my daughter-in-law, Emma. Emma, this is – “

“Belle?” Emma asked with a smirk.

He ignored her. “Belle and I know each other from work.”

Emma’s smirk only grew. She reached out and shook Belle’s hand. “It’s great to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about Gold’s work _friend_.”

Her father-in-law glared at her.

Belle returned her smirk. “It seems a lot of people have.”

He swallowed hard. “Well, you know how Bae is.” He looked past her into the living room. “I should probably check on the other guests. Excuse me.”

Belle watched as Rum all but sprinted out of the room. She turned back to see an amused Emma watching her.

“Is he always this odd?” Belle asked, trying to cover her confusion.

“Usually,” Emma said wryly. She gave Belle a quick once-over before saying, “You know he likes you, right?”

“Wh-what?” Belle sputtered. She glanced back to where Rum was talking to two rather tipsy looking women sitting on a couch together. “Why would you say that?” She was aware she had just heard the exact same thing from Henry, but it was slightly weirder hearing it from an adult.

“Because it’s true.” Emma folded her arms over her chest. “And because my intuition tells me you feel the same way.”

Looking down at her shoes suddenly seemed like a very good idea. Belle kept her eyes on the floor as she asked her next question. “Are you sure? He’s never made a move in all the time we’ve known each other.”

She only looked up when she heard the rich tones of the other woman’s laughter. Emma was chuckling hard enough to cause several of the caterers within the kitchen to look up at her.

“If you’re waiting for that man to make a move, you’re going to be waiting for ages. It was the same with Bae. Despite his outgoing nature, I ended up being the one to ask _him_ out for a drink.”

She placed a hand on Belle’s arm. “Trust me. The ball isn’t just in your court – it’s superglued there.”

Emma gave her arm a reassuring squeeze before whispering the words “good luck” and wandering back out into the main room. Belle leaned back against the doorway for support and watched as the other woman joined her husband and son.

If there was one thing Belle had learned from that evening – and she had learned _a lot_ – it was that Emma and Bae were well matched. Neither seemed to hold much value in subtlety.

Taking a deep breath, she turned away from Rum’s family to walk into the kitchen. Despite how her head was reeling from what Emma had just told her, she had come to check on Daniel. Any revelations that the others seemed hell bent on giving her would have to wait a few minutes longer.

Daniel was busy cleaning himself off by the sink. There was still a bit of cake in his hair that he had overlooked.

She leaned against the counter next to him and gestured towards his head. “Missed a spot.”

He pulled the frosting out of his hair and gave her a half-hearted grin. “I thought I’d save it for later.”

Belle shook her head in amusement. “I just don’t understand why you’re here. I told you whose party it was weeks ago.”

He gave her a guilty smile. “Actually, I asked to work the event. I thought it might give me a chance to talk to Regina.”

Belle just shook her head. She knew Daniel had been trying to get hold of Regina since that disastrous day in the cafeteria, but so far he hadn’t had any luck.

“So how’d that go then?” she asked innocently.

He snorted. “For some reason, she didn’t seem to appreciate the fact that I called her dead mother a liar. Weird, huh?”

Belle gave him a sympathetic smile. Daniel had told her the whole story of his and Regina’s failed engagement several weeks ago, and she knew he was still struggling to come to terms with what had happened.

He and Regina had only been eighteen at the time. After Cora Mills had forbidden her daughter from marrying him, Daniel had convinced Regina to run off with him in the middle of the night to elope. Unfortunately, they hadn’t even made it past the town line before Daniel lost control of the car on the icy roads and drove them into the ditch. He had merely been scraped up, but Regina had been knocked unconscious.

When Daniel had tried to visit her in the hospital, Cora had told him that her daughter refused to see him, claiming Regina blamed him for the accident. It was only when Belle had told him the version of events she’d heard from Rum – that Regina believed all this time that he had abandoned her – that Daniel realized Cora had played them both. Now he was determined to explain everything to Regina. But between her ignoring his calls and throwing cake in his face, it seemed an impossible task to Belle.  

However, as Belle examined Daniel’s now clean face, she saw that he remained determined.

She shook her head. “You’re clearly a masochist if you’re still trying to pursue Regina.”

“I think she deserves to know the truth. Even if there’s no hope for us, I need her to know how I feel.” He shrugged. “Life’s too short not to take risks.”

“You know,” Belle said thoughtfully, her thoughts straying once again to the complicated man in the next room, “I think you may just be right.”

 

The only good thing about Regina throwing her fit was that the party broke up shortly after that.

For better or for worse, most of the people there were well aware of Regina’s explosive temper, so Gold didn’t think he’d have to do too much damage control Monday. Though he did certainly plan on having a conversation with Regina about professionalism at parties – she had somehow managed to swing from one end of the inappropriate spectrum to the other in just a matter of minutes that night.

Almost everyone had left, leaving just the caterers, his family, and Belle behind. He had been making plans with Bae, Emma, and Henry for the next day when Belle emerged from the kitchen and walked over to where they stood.

“Well, I think we better head out,” Bae said abruptly. He let out a large yawn. “Gotta get Henry to bed.”

“My bedtime isn’t for another two hours!” Henry declared hotly.

Bae ruffled his son’s hair. “Kids these days, huh?” He winked at Belle. “You’ll understand when you have one of your own.”

Gold bit back a groan. His son seemed determined to embarrass him to death. 

“It was great to finally meet you,” Emma said to Belle. “I hope we’ll be seeing more of you.”

Gold noticed that Belle’s face seemed to have a bit of color to it. He wondered if she had drank a little too much.

“Yeah, that’d be nice,” Belle replied.

Bae and Emma hugged him goodnight while Henry complained about not being “the least bit sleepy”. Then his grandson begrudgingly gave him a hug as well. His family said goodbye to Belle and made their way out the door.

Leaving him alone. With her.

Gold knew there were other people in the kitchen, but suddenly they felt very, very far away.

She seemed just as uncomfortable as he felt. It immediately reminded him of what had happened at the beginning of the night and he cringed inwardly.

Belle was the first to speak. “Did you enjoy the party?”

He made a dismissive noise, looking around the room as he avoided her gaze. “I’m not sure how anyone thought this was a good idea, honestly.”

“And what was so horrible about it?” she asked, a touch of anger in her voice.

“I can think of several reasons off the top of my head. My house was overrun by people I barely tolerate, Regina tried to destroy my kitchen, and you – “ he stuttered to a stop, his mouth snapping closed.

“I _what_?”

He looked away from her again. “Never mind.”

Belle took a step towards him and Gold automatically took a step back. He saw her face fall in response and he cursed his cowardly subconscious.

“Are you angry with me?”

He sighed. “No,” he said, realizing it was the truth as he said it. She hadn’t meant to pull the rug out from under him like that. Bae had told him how helpful Belle had been in getting things ready for the party. He was lucky to have someone who cared that much. “This just wasn’t how I had envisioned spending my birthday, I guess.”

Belle nodded, seeming to accept his answer. “Well, I know this can’t make up for it, but I hope it at least softens the blow.” She reached into her purse and withdrew a small envelope, which she handed to him.

Gold opened the envelope and withdrew the card. The front showed a black Cadillac similar to his own. He tried not to grimace as he read the words aloud.

“They sure don’t make them like they used to. Happy Birthday.”

Belle giggled and he gave her a wan smile. He hardly needed another reminder that she probably considered him older than the dinosaurs.

He opened up the card to see a long handwritten note from Belle. Gold skimmed it quickly, already knowing he would probably be rereading it several times before he went to bed that night. He then looked at the slips of printed paper that were taped to the inside of the card.

A smile formed at the corner of his mouth. Belle had given him two tickets to a wine tasting festival next month.

“It’s not much, but I thought it could be something fun we could do together.” Her cheeks went slightly pink. “Unless you’d rather go with Bae, of course.”

He shook his head. “No, I’d like to go with you. Thank you.”

“It’s supposed to be really fun,” she continued hurriedly, as if she thought he needed to be convinced. “A bunch of the people in one of my meetup groups went last year. Apparently the wine was fantastic and they all ended up getting really drunk.”

Gold nodded along as she spoke. He knew Belle had sighed herself up for some kind of internet meeting group a couple weeks ago. He raised an eyebrow after her last comment though.

“Does this mean you’re trying to get me drunk, Miss French?”

“Of course not,” she answered rather quickly. “Don’t be ridiculous.” She swatted him on the arm playfully, and Gold noticed that her slight blush had grown.

Before he could tease her further, Belle’s phone gave a little chirp. She pulled it out of her purse and glanced at the screen. “My taxi’s here.” She gave him a regretful look. “I guess I should go.”

“Of course.” He licked his lips and tried not to let thoughts of her _not_ leaving flood his brain.

“I’m sorry again that the party was a bit of a disaster. In hindsight, we should have just skipped the party and gone out to dinner together.”

Gold felt a glimmer of hope. “Maybe we could still do that sometime.”

“I’d like that.” Belle seemed to debate something for a moment and then moved a step closer. She gave him a shy smile before leaning up and pressing her lips gently to his cheek.   

“Happy birthday, Rum.”

For the longest second of his life, he debated closing the space between them and giving her a proper kiss. She was _so_ close, and his cheek tingled pleasantly from her kiss.

But then he remembered all the reasons why that was a bad idea. So instead of acting on the impulse to lean in and kiss her, all he managed to do was say, “Good night, Belle.”

He wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw a brief glimpse of disappointment in her eyes.

“Okay. Good night then.”

Belle walked to the front door and pushed it open. As she was halfway through the door, he blurted out nervously, “I’ll see you Tuesday, right?”

She turned her head back towards him. “Of course. Lunch is our thing after all.”   

Her tone was a bit wry and before he could wonder what she had meant by that, the door had closed behind her. Gold found himself walking up to the door and peeking out the glass. He watched as Belle got into the taxi and the vehicle drove off down the street.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. Gold pulled it out, expecting it to be an irate text from Regina. Instead, it was from Bae.

_Seriously?_

About to reply, he heard a loud honk on the street outside. An old, yellow Volkswagen bug had just pulled around the corner and was driving by his house slowly. Gold saw Henry wave from the backseat as it passed. He waved back before returning to the text with a sigh.

He knew Bae wasn’t going to let him live this down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s notes: Don’t kill me. Things are happening next chapter, I swear. LOTS OF THINGS. LOTS AND LOTS OF THINGS. *WINKS*
> 
> Shout out to Goldilocks on AO3 who inspired the little kiss at the end! (I know you were hoping for a little more there, but I’ve had the scene where these two idiots finally get together planned for months now.)


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from @theplasticview: Gold‘s mind wanders during a meeting to his dream from the night before (P.S. It was a sex dream – a raunchy one featuring Belle French. Naked. Underneath him.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s here at last! Due to Gold cockblocking himself yet again and the eventual smut deciding to last for seven pages, I decided to break this into two chapters, both of which I have posted today. Thanks for you patience and happy reading! The final chapter will be up next week.

_Belle moaned contentedly beneath him, her eyes rolling back in her head as he thrust deeply inside her._

_“Gods, Belle,” he managed to ground out between clenched teeth. “You feel so good.”_

_Her only response was a roll of her hips and he found himself pulled even deeper inside. He was sure he’d never felt this good in his life._

_“Gold,” Belle panted breathlessly, repeating his name like a prayer. “Gold, Gold – “_

“Gold!” 

Gold started out of his daydream to find everyone in the conference room looking at him expectantly.

Except for Regina, who merely raised a single sculpted eyebrow at him from across the table, a knowing smirk on her face.

Gold cleared his throat. “Ah – very interesting. Please continue.”

He managed to focus for the next ten to fifteen minutes of the meeting before his attention slipped again, his mind wandering back to his dream from the night before. Though it was hardly the first time he had dreamt about Belle, last night had been different. It had been so intense that Gold had woken with a start, only to find his hand already clenched around his cock as he came hard.

Having her in his house had definitely been a bad idea, Gold reflected. Before the party on Friday, his house had been a refuge where he could escape thoughts of her somewhat. But now that he had actually seen her in his home, it was too easy to imagine she belonged there. Too easy to imagine her laid out on his bed, her hair fanned out across his pillow as he kissed his way across her skin.

Gold bit back a groan and scooted his chair closer to the conference table. Now he was _really_ in trouble.

His filthy imagination had been torturing him all morning long. He had spent the majority of the weekend with his family celebrating his birthday, providing him a welcome distraction from such thoughts. But now that he was back at work, he found it much harder to tear his mind away from the inappropriate fantasies his mind kept supplying. He had thought the meeting that afternoon would do the trick, but unfortunately, it had only made it obvious to everyone around him that his brain was elsewhere.

He was relieved when the meeting ended and everyone got up to return to their offices. Regina slowed as she walked past him, pausing only long enough to say, in a tone pitched low enough that only he could hear, “So much for _professionalism_ , boss.”

She sauntered off before he could reply, clearly smug at having gotten her little jab in at him. He sighed, standing up from the table and making his way back to his office.

It didn’t take a law degree to realize Regina was still rather peeved at him.

He had confronted her earlier that morning about her behavior at his party – both her huge blow up in the kitchen and her flirty behavior towards Loxley. Unfortunately, their chat had only left him more worried. Regina was usually blunt, so her evasive answers during their talk made him uneasy. Gold had thought to warn her against any impropriety; he had never suspected that she might already be _involved_ with Loxley.

The thought left a sour feeling in his stomach. It would look bad for the firm if word got around that one of its senior partners was sleeping with a married client. But more importantly, he worried about the damage it could cause to Regina herself, both personally and professionally.

He arrived back in his office and walked to the window as if on autopilot. His eyes sought out Belle’s window instinctively, and he frowned at what he saw.

It took only a moment of arguing with himself before he found his fingers picking up his cell.

He may be a lecherous old pervert, but he wasn’t one to stand by when a friend seemed to be in some kind of distress.

\---------------

_Belle cursed as Rum’s teeth found the sensitive spot on her neck and bit down. She ground herself against him harder, riding him for all she was worth. The Cadillac wasn’t the most auspicious of places for a lunchtime rendezvous, but there were hardly too many work-friendly spots for their trysts to occur._

_She was right on the edge when his fingers snuck down to where their bodies joined. He found her clit, pinching it firmly as he whispered filthy words into her ear, his rough voice pushing her over the edge._

_As her orgasm washed over her –_

Belle jumped in her seat as her phone vibrated. Letting out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding, she picked up the phone, blinking stupidly at the text on her screen.

_Are you unwell? You look like you’re in pain. Can I help?_

Belle grimaced. No one ever wanted to know what their face looked like when they were turned on.

As for whether he could help, well – that was an entirely _different_ conversation altogether.

_I’m fine. I was just having a rather intense daydream that’s all._

She regretted the words the moment she hit send. A moment later the phone buzzed and Belle closed her eyes before cracking open an eyelid to peek at the message.

_Oh_

She felt a blush come over her face and she hoped he at least wouldn’t see that from his window. As she tried to think of a reply, another message from Rum came through.

_I found my mind wandering during my meeting as well._

Belle’s curiosity overcame her shyness.

_Anything you’d like to share?_

She glanced up at his office through the window in time to see him smile at the phone and type out a response. Her eyes darted back down to her screen as the message popped up.

_You first._

Belle lifted her gaze to the window once again, only to meet Rum’s eyes from across the plaza. There was something different in his expression now and it caused her breath to catch in her throat.

As they stared at each other, she found her thoughts wandering back to what she had learned at his party Friday – what had been on her mind all weekend long, in fact. 

Everyone _else_ seemed convinced that he liked her. Even Belle was running out of excuses to explain his recent behavior towards her.

She tore her gaze away from his to stare down at her phone, her thumbs hovering just above the screen.

Maybe it was time she found out once and for all.

Belle had been torturing herself for weeks wondering how he felt about her. In the beginning she thought she could be content with their friendship, but she knew that wasn’t true anymore. She had met his family and been in his home. She felt like she belonged there. And until he point blank told her that he saw her as nothing more than a friend, she wasn’t going to be able to move past that.

At this point, even the embarrassment of being told her feelings were unrequited would be a small relief. She had been hanging over a precipice for far too long – either way, she had to know.

_Are you free this afternoon at all? There’s something I want to talk to you about._

She really hoped she wasn’t reading this all wrong.

_I usually take a tea break here at 2:30. You’re welcome to join me._

She sent a quick reply saying that she’d come before forcing herself to turn away from the window and pretend instead to be riveted by the non-existent work on her computer screen.

Fortunately, she didn’t have long to wait, and she spent the time mentally preparing herself for what was to come.

Her inspirational pep talk to herself continued as she made her way up to Rum’s office. She found herself reflecting on the last few months and how much things had changed in such a short amount of time.

She had originally saw Rum – the once mysterious man across the courtyard – as a mere fantasy, a mysterious older man that she daydreamed about to break up the monotony of her day.

But what had started out as a way to escape reality had become the best part of it. And now that she was finally getting out more, pushing herself to be brave and try new things in her life, she knew for certain that she wanted him for him and not just because she was lonely.

She’d signed up for and been attending several local Meetup groups, including the one where she had heard about the wine festival she had gotten Rum tickets for. She had originally gotten the tickets as an excuse to get them out together and see what happened, but Belle knew she couldn’t wait that long anymore.

Ruby had pretty much said the same thing to her that morning after picking her up and driving her to work, blushing slightly as she admitted that she and Jefferson had been behind Belle’s missing keys on Friday night.

Though Belle had wanted to be annoyed at her friends, she found that she was honestly just disappointed that their gamble hadn’t paid off. She felt like she had been hovering on the edge of inaction until Rum had texted her, spurring her into making what she still hoped wasn’t a giant mistake.

She’d given Ruby a wink as she’d walked out of the office and Ruby’s gleeful expression and thumbs up had given her a boost of confidence.

She could do this, Belle told herself as she found herself at the front door of Mills & Gold.

As she walked into the main room, a red-haired woman came towards her, practically bouncing in her purple heels.

“Miss French? Mr. Gold’s office is straight through this way.”

Belle nodded dumbly, following the direction the other woman had pointed in. She walked slowly up towards the office door, trying not to focus on the fact that Rum was so very out of her league when it came to their professional lives.

She raised her hand to knock on the door before she could change her mind. Her hands suddenly felt sweaty and she felt her courage start to fade.

Then Daniel’s words about taking risks came back to her and she squared her shoulders, knocking more firmly on the door.

“Come in.”

As she opened the door, Belle got her first real look at Rum’s office. She’d only ever seen the area right by the window, and it was a bit surreal to finally find herself walking into a space she had imagined so often.

Rum was sitting at his desk. It was a big, imposing mahogany mammoth of a thing. Belle got the distinct impression that he used it as a barrier between himself and others.

Not that she was going to let it get in _her_ way, Belle told herself.

“Hey,” Rum said awkwardly.

“Hey, yourself.” Belle walked around to his side of his desk and leaned against it, trying to look casual. As much as she just wanted to just blurt out what she had come to say and get it over with, she figured she should ease into the conversation a bit. “How’s your day been?”

“Up until this point?” he said with a quirk of his lips. “Not great. I had a rather… _uncomfortable_ conversation with Regina earlier.”

“About the party?”

He grimaced. “Among other things.”

Belle titled her head to the side. “Like what?”

“I’m not sure if I should be sharing this or not,” he said uneasily, crossing his arms. “But I suppose it _might_ be helpful to get another woman’s perspective. Did you happen to meet a man named Robin Loxley at my birthday party?”

“No, but I recognize the name. Regina RSVP’d for him.” Her nose wrinkled. “Was he the guy with too much hair gel that Regina was hanging all over?”

Rum looked uncomfortable. “Ah, so you noticed.” He met her eyes uncomfortably. “He’s married.”

“Oh.”

“He also happens to be a client.” He uncrossed his arms and gestured awkwardly. “I’m not sure what to do. She didn’t seem very interested in hearing my opinion on the matter.”

Belle reached out for his hand. “She’s a grown woman. There’s only so much you can do.”

Rum stared at her hand as her thumb rubbed small circles against the back of his own.

“What? I mean – yes, of course, you’re right.” He continued to stare at their hands. After a rather long pause, he added, “Did you say you had something you wanted to talk about?”

“Yes, it’s about the other night actually. Do you remember when we were at your front door? You said you had something to – “

“Tea!” Rum leapt up from the desk. “I forgot to get the tea. Do you have a preference?”

Belle stared at him dumbstruck. “What?”

“Earl Grey? Or perhaps some Darjeeling?” He looked slightly panicked and began backing up towards the door. “We have a nice Jasmine tea.”

She felt like she had cornered a stray cat. “Um, Jasmine, I guess.”

“Good choice. I’ll be right back.” He pointed towards the door. “With the…uh, _tea_.”

Belle watched him practically run out the door in disbelief. It took the several minutes he was gone for her to wrap her head around what had just happened. By the time he came back however, she was ready.

He walked towards her with two white and blue tea cups on matching saucers, the door swinging shut behind him.

“It’s very hot,” he warned her, handing her one before sitting back in his chair again. She noticed he left considerable more room between them this time. “You might want to blow on it.”

Belle knew how Ruby would have encouraged her to reply to that statement, but she figured her approach was equally straightforward. She took a sip, swallowed, and set her teacup behind her on the desk.

“So I’ve been wondering for a while now,” Belle bit her lip worriedly, but pushed herself to finish her question, “what were you going to confess to me the other night?”

Rum’s teacup clattered to the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL. THERE IS ACTUAL SEX IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter you’ve all been waiting for. Don’t lie.

 

“Con – confess?” Rum stuttered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He bent over to pick up the now chipped cup, avoiding her gaze as he set it back on the desk.

“Oh, for pete’s sake,” Belle mumbled under her breath. Emma had been right; she was going to have to do something drastic if they were ever going to get anywhere. She licked her lips and took a deep breath.

“Trust me, Rum. This is for your own good.”

He looked at her in confusion. “What are you – “

His question was cut off abruptly as Belle grabbed his lapels and pulled him towards her. Their lips crushed against each other in a kiss that was far from gentle or sweet, but made up for it by the fact that it was _real_.

When she pulled back a moment later, the pure look of shock on Rum’s face was enough to cause her to dissolve into a fit of nervous giggles.

“Belle?” he asked, his expression growing worried. “Are you alright? I think – “

He tried to step back from her, forgetting for a moment that his chair was directly behind him. The back of his legs hit the chair, and he fell backward, bringing her with him.

The chair tipped back dangerously at the sudden weight. Belle felt a brief flash of panic before the front legs of the chair came back to the ground a moment later.

Her heart hammering in her chest, she glanced back at Rum.

“Well, I’ve certainly never gotten _that_ kind of reaction from one of my kisses,” she joked nervously. “I must be improving.”

Rum merely nodded in response, giving Belle the feeling that he hadn’t heard anything she’d just said. It was only then that Belle herself realized that she was currently _straddling_ him.

Despite their close proximity and the fact that she had kissed him less than a minute ago, Rum was currently looking at her in disbelief, as if she was a figment of his imagination that might disappear at any moment.

His hand reached out hesitantly, his touch featherlight as he traced the curve of her face with his fingertips.

Belle’s eyes fluttered closed. She leaned into the caress, feeling herself melt under his touch.

“Oh, Belle.”

She would have to thank Ruby for recommending the straightforward approach later, Belle realized as a happy sigh escaped her lips.

Any further thoughts of her friend were pushed from her head however as his lips brushed up gently against hers.

Belle’s heart soared and she pressed back into the kiss hungrily. When his tongue sought entrance, she opened her mouth willingly to him, moaning a bit as the kiss deepened.

They came up for air a short time later, both breathing heavily, their shy smiles a sharp contrast to their current activity.  

Rum was gazing at her adoringly, his expression one of wonder. Belle couldn’t remember anyone ever looking at her like that before. ~~~~

 “What are you thinking?” she asked, her voice sounding rather breathless still.

“Honestly?” Rum’s mouth twisted into a wry smile. “I was thinking how very much I’d like to not mess this up.”

Belle giggled, resting her head against his shoulder. “As long as you don’t insult me again, I think you’re pretty safe.”

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Are you saying you don’t want another fruit basket?”

Belle bit her lip as she slid her hands up towards his lapel once again, feeling rather emboldened by their kisses and the fact that she could already feel that he was not unaffected either.

“I think there’s something… _else_ you could give me that I’d enjoy a lot more.”

Rum froze, his mouth failing to do anything but open and close uselessly.

Belle’s eyes widened and she sat up abruptly. “Oh god, I came on too strong, didn’t I? I’m sorry. I – “

Her sentence was cut short by his mouth capturing hers in a fierce kiss, swallowing the rest of her apology.

Belle let out a squeal of surprise, and she kissed him back with equal enthusiasm, enjoying the way his arms wrapped around her and pulled her even closer. Letting her hand wander down towards the tent in his trousers, she gave him a squeeze. She was rewarded a moment later as he broke their kiss to let out a groan.

He looked intently into her eyes, his own having become rather glazed over. “You’re going to be the death of me, you know.”

Belle smirked, but said nothing. Instead, she ground her lower body against his, enjoying the way his eyes seemed to roll back in his head.  

She didn’t have long to gloat before her attention was caught by Rum’s hand, which was currently inching its way up her thigh and under her skirt.

After what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a couple seconds, Rum’s fingers began pressing against her center, rubbing her deftly through her underwear. Belle arched into his touch, letting out soft sounds of encouragement. She almost sobbed with relief when he pushed aside the material so he could touch her directly.

Rum drew a finger up and down her slit, spreading the moisture he found there before slowly sliding a finger inside her. To Belle’s delight, he repeated the motion again and again, his speed and pressure gradually growing with each thrust of his finger.

She grabbed hold of his hair as she moved against him languidly, gasping in pleasure as he added a second finger not long later. By that time, his thumb had found her clit and Belle found herself practically riding his hand as he worked her into a frenzy.

Belle could feel herself growing close to the edge, despite the fact that they were both still fully clothed and were really only on third base.

Opening her eyes, unsure of when she had even closed them, she saw Rum staring at her intently, his eyes entirely focused on her face. His slightly crooked teeth were barred as he breathed heavily, and the effect of having all that passion directed towards her was a bit overwhelming – though certainly _not_ unpleasant.

Realizing she hadn’t done much besides enjoy the feel of his hands on her for she wasn’t sure how long, Belle reached forward to return the favor. But just as her fingers reached his crotch, he brushed them aside. He pulled her towards him for a rough kiss, then removed his hand from inside her, bringing it up to his lips and sucking it clean.

Belle wondered if it was possible to come from that image alone – she rather thought so.

He pulled his fingers out of his mouth a moment later with an obscene pop.

“Get on the desk,” he growled.

Belle stood up hurriedly, nearly tripping as she scrambled to get out of her underwear. Her legs felt a bit like jelly and she was grateful to have the solid mahogany desk beneath her as she sat down.

She had imagined this scenario countless times in her daydreams. The fact that she was finally about to experience said fantasy was almost more than she could process.

It wasn’t until Rum went down on his knees in front of her that Belle realized that her daydreams might just pale in comparison to what real life had in store for her.

She spared just a brief moment of worry that they were in front of a window, even though no one should be able to see him, before Rum flicked his tongue against her clit and she lost all coherent thought.

\-- - - -  ---  

Ruby had sat at her desk for a solid twenty minutes after Belle had left before she decided she couldn’t take the suspense anymore. She got up slowly from her desk, grabbing a stack of papers so it looked like she had a reason to go into Belle’s office other than burning curiosity. 

The sight that greeted her at the window confused her for a moment. She could see Belle – or her upper half at least – sitting on Gold’s desk, but the man himself was nowhere to be seen. Belle’s eyes were closed and her head was thrown back a bit, her mouth hanging open in a rather satisfied expression.

Ruby blinked. “Holy crap, is she – ”

Right then, Belle’s whole body rocked back as if convulsing. Several moments later, Gold’s head popped up into sight.

Clapping her hand over her mouth, Ruby managed to stifle the squeal that threatened to burst forth.

“Hey Ruby, where’s Belle? I need to – whoa.”  

She turned around to see Jefferson, who had skidded to a halt right beside her and was now staring out the window at the horizontal gymnastics routine that Belle and Gold were currently engaged in.

“Yowza.”

Ruby uncovered her mouth. “You can say that again.”

She saw Jefferson tilt his head to the side. “You know, I never thought I’d say this, but the old man has got some _moves_.”

“Oh, hey guys. Have you seen – oh my god!”

Ruby and Jefferson whipped around to see David stumble back in shock, closing his eyes in a pained expression.

“My eyes can never unsee that.”

“Oh stop being such a prude, Nolan.” Jefferson turned back to the window. “It’s wonderful that they’re finally getting their act together.”

David opened his eyes just enough to glare at him. “Well, that’s great for them, but I’d be happier if I didn’t have that act _seared_ onto my eye sockets.”

“I think it’s kind of sweet,” Ruby said. “It’s like something out of a romance novel.”

Jefferson nodded knowingly. “Just hopefully better written. Heaving bosoms and wet folds are all well and good, but at a certain point it just gets repetitious.”

David just stared at the two of them, his jaw moving but no sound coming out. Finally, he gestured back towards the rest of the office. “I’m going to go now, before this experience puts me off sex for the rest of my life.”

He turned around and stalked out of the room. Ruby turned towards Jefferson. “He’s a bit of a killjoy but I suppose he has a point. We should probably give them their privacy.”

Jefferson smiled. “What do you think about ordering them a bouquet of fruit to say ‘congrats’?”

\------

Gold stood up slowly from where he had been kneeling on the floor. His knees hadn’t been incredibly pleased about the position, but after hearing the noises Belle had been making, a slight pain in his knees was more than worth it in return for what even his out-of-practice ears had recognized as an orgasm.

Belle was gazing at him rather drunkenly, and he could do nothing to prevent the cocky grin that he knew was spreading across his face.

“Wow,” Belle said, looping her arms around his shoulders as he leaned towards her. “That was…. _wow_.”

He chuckled. “Reducing you to monosyllables? I must have done a good job.”

Rather than argue, Belle smiled at him innocently before firmly cupping the front of his pants and squeezing.

“Gods,” he gasped. “Belle, please.”

It was her turn to smirk. “What were you saying about monosyllables again?” she asked, grinning fiercely as she continued to stroke him through his trousers.

“I suppose I deserved that,” he said roughly, wrapping one arm around her waist while the other made its way up her thigh. “Let me make it up to you?”

Belle’s only response was a contented hum. His mouth went to work on her neck as he stroked her leisurely with his fingers again, delighting in the soft sounds she made. Gold thought he could honestly go on like this forever if she promised not to stop making those enticing moans of hers.

She seemed to have other plans, however. Stilling his hand, Belle looked up at him invitingly from under her long eyelashes, her breathing rather shallower than it had been before.

“I don’t want to wait any longer,” she said firmly. “I want you.”

The words were music to his ears. Unfortunately, he could think of a slight impediment.

“What about protection?” he asked cautiously. “I don’t…well, I don’t have anything here.”

Once again, Belle gave him a gorgeous smile. He felt he was growing rather addicted to them.

“It’s not a problem. I’m on the pill and I’m clean.” The blush that spread across Belle’s cheeks was rather becoming. “It’s been a while actually.”

“For me as well,” Gold admitted.  He decided against disclosing exactly _how_ long it had been. He was honestly just thankful none of his parts had rusted after so many years of celibacy. “And I’m clean too.”

“I guess there’s only one thing left to do then.” Belle pushed his suit jacket from his shoulders and quickly unbuttoned his waistcoat. He let them both fall to the floor without a second thought.

He could easily buy more clothes – Belle was irreplaceable.

Before he could think any further, she had pulled him in for another kiss. Despite all their kissing, her lips were still exquisitely soft beneath his. Her lips parted and he drove his tongue inside her mouth, reveling in the taste of her.

Every bit of her had been sweet on his tongue and he looked forward to exploring more of her body at a later time. He had the feeling that neither of them would have the patience for that at the moment, but he hoped it would be on the table – or somewhere else entirely – in the future.

Belle seemed to have given up on unbuttoning his dress shirt, his tie completely ignored, and was now fumbling with the zipper on his trousers.

Gold ended their kiss and stepped away from her for a moment, noticing with pleasure that her eyes followed him hungrily. Within seconds, he had freed himself from his trousers. He stepped back towards Belle, gasping as she closed her hand around him.

He tried to take deep breaths to steady himself as Belle continued to stroke him. If she continued that way for much longer, Gold had no doubt that he’d be spilling himself across his desk.

And he had no intention of coming anywhere other than inside of Belle today.

He removed her hand gently, raising her hand to press a soft kiss against her palm before leaning around to clear off the space behind her.

In his fantasies, he always swept the papers littering his desk off onto the floor, the pages flying up in the air in a frenzied chaos. But even in the midst of passion, he was still, unfortunately, the practical sort. He knew it would take hours to sort through the mess if he acted like the lead in some kind of romantic comedy.

Thus, his grand sweep was really more of a hurried push.

Belle watched him from her perch on the edge of his desk, her eyes twinkling as he moved their tea cups, his keyboard, and a few other items to the opposite side of the desk carefully.

“I can come back later if you need more time to clean.”

He gave her a mock glare as he straightened, grabbing her by the waist with one arm and hauling her towards him.  

Her eyes sparkled and once again he amazed by the fact that such an incredible and beautiful woman had given him the time of day, much less let him touch her in this way. He felt the sudden urge to confess just how deeply he felt about her.

But that could wait until later, Gold decided. He didn’t want to screw this up, especially if her feelings didn’t run as deep as his did.

When Belle’s legs wrapped around him, all further thoughts left his mind. He took himself in hand, rubbing his erection against her slit, feeling how wet she was for him.

It was quite possible that he might die of happiness right here.  

“You sure?” he whispered.

“Damn it, Rum,” Belle said with a huff of exasperation. “Just do it already!”

Without another word, Gold let out an unintelligible growl and thrust into her.

He felt his world narrow to the feel of being inside her – Belle, the woman he was pretty sure he loved.

“Fuck,” he gasped.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Belle grabbed his tie, yanking him closer and shunting her hips towards him.

He responded eagerly, his hips rhythmically snapping towards her as he thrust deeply into her. Belle’s legs tightened around him and he felt himself slip even further inside.

“Gods yes,” Belle panted. “Please don’t stop.”

His only response was a deep groan as he continued to drive into her. He grabbed one of her legs and pulled it up, allowing him to plunge even deeper.

He saw Belle’s eyes flutter closed as he seemed to reach some new spot inside her.

Her hands reached up beneath his shirt, which he only now realized had become untucked from his pants at some point. Her nails sunk deeply into his back and he hissed in appreciation.

Belle’s throaty moans were some of the most erotic noises he had ever heard in his life. His pace quickened, becoming increasingly more erratic. Gold could tell he was close, but he was determined that Belle would come before him.

He leaned towards her, squeezing a breast with one hand while his mouth trailed sloppy kisses across her neck. Hearing her breath quicken, he focused his attention there as he continued to pound away into her. He nipped lightly at her neck before running his tongue around the curve of her throat, feeling her shiver beneath him.

Her grip tightened in response, her nails digging almost painfully into his back as she held onto him for dear life.

Gold swore and moved his hand back down to where they were joined. With a quick pinch of her clit, he felt Belle clench around him, pulling him with her as she screamed out in pleasure. They clung to each other as they rode out their orgasms, neither letting the other one go.

He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, clutching her to him. Once his brain began to function again, he pressed a gentle kiss to Belle’s forehead, feeling her snuggle up against him.  

If this wasn’t love, Gold thought, as a fierce surge of protectiveness hurtled through him, he didn’t know what was.

\-----------

Fifteen minutes later found them sitting in Rum’s chair, still wrapped up in each other and seemingly content to remain that way.

Belle didn’t think she had ever felt this happy in her life. Comfortably curled up in her lover’s arms, her body sated from the most amazing sex of her life, she honestly couldn’t think of a single place in the world she would rather be. 

“I wish I could just take you home right now,” Rum mumbled into her hair.

She giggled. “Ready to go again, are we?”

His eyes flashed with lust for a moment. “Don’t tempt me.”

“Well, it would be highly _unprofessional_ for us to cut out in the middle of the day. But perhaps we could call it an early night tonight? Leave around 4:00 or so?” Her eyes sparkled mischievously. “I’m sure I can talk my boss into letting me go early.”

He groaned. “Yes, I’m sure he would agree. That man has missed out on his calling as a cupid, as has your friend Miss Lucas.” He reached up and ran his thumb across her bottom lip. “But I’d love to go home early with you.”

Belle leaned forward to kiss him lightly on the lips. “It’s a date then.”

Of course, one kiss led to a few more and it was another ten minutes before Belle finally made her way out his door, wearing a goofy smile that refused to leave her face.

Even the sight of Regina in the main office couldn’t quite bring her down from the cloud she was currently floating on.

Had it been any other day, Belle was sure she would have scurried away as quickly as possible from the other woman. But the joy she felt at her and Rum finally getting together had left her wanting to see everyone else just as happy.

Regina eyed her slightly rumpled dress skeptically. “Productive tea break, I take it?”

Even the snide remark couldn’t pierce through Belle’s cheerful bubble.

“Regina, can I be honest with you?”

The other woman blinked in surprise. “If you must.”

“Look, I know things are complicated between you and Daniel, but I think you should hear him out. He really wants to talk – “

“Now hold it right there.” Regina held up a hand. “My personal life is none of your business. Just because you’re screwing Gold now doesn’t make us friends.”

Belle’s hands curled into fists at her side as she tried to remain calm. “I’m only trying to help.”

“Do us both a favor and don’t.” Her eyes flashed maliciously. “Besides, I’m sure Gold has found far more useful things for you to do with that mouth of yours.”

“How dare you!” Belle was aware of other people in the office beginning to stare at them, but she was not going to let Regina talk to her like that.

“Huh, the gold digger’s got teeth. I’m almost impressed.”

“You know, you’re right, Regina. I think it’s better if you stay away from Daniel. He deserves so much better than you.”

“For your information,” Regina hissed, “I’m already with someone. So you and Daniel can both stop wasting your time!”

A moment later, Regina’s face spread into an unkind smile as her gaze traveled over Belle’s shoulder. Belle turned to see Rum standing in the door of his office looking confused.

“Your little friend here is poking her nose into things that don’t concern her,” Regina said to Rum. Her eyes flicked back to Belle. “I think she’s learning that it’s not a good idea to get involved in things beyond her depth.”

Belle felt her anger rise, her voice rising along with it. “Oh, like dating a married man perhaps?”

Rum’s eyes looked slightly panicked as he crossed over towards them hurried. “Belle, please!”

“I think it’s time we called security,” Regina said, her voice now disturbingly calm.

“What?!” Both turned towards her, speaking in union.

“Gold, you didn’t hear the things she was saying to me before you came out here. I’m well within my rights to have her removed.”

“But – I didn’t – “ Belle glanced at Rum helplessly. “Rum?”

The happiness she had seen in his eyes just five minutes prior was now absent as he turned towards her. He took a half step back and she felt her stomach sink in response.

“I think it would be a good idea if you left,” Rum said.

“But – “

He closed his eyes. “Belle, please.”

She nodded mutely, seeing the victory in Regina’s expression as she turned and walked out of the office of Mills & Gold.   

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: The final chapter is up next week! And the ending is sooo fluffy, you’re probably going to choke on. So uh, please don’t kill me?


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle and Gold are both too stubborn for their own good. It's up to everyone else to help them get back on track.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Sooo the final chapter kind of turned into two chapters and an epilogue. I JUST CAN'T STOP.

 It was only 9 am on Tuesday morning and Belle already wanted to go home.

Instead of spending the day at home angrily eating Cheetos and cursing the day her eyes had first strayed across the courtyard, she had come into the office as usual, determined not to waste a sick day over someone as ridiculous as Rum Gold.

She was fairly confident he wouldn’t be letting thoughts of her distract him from his work, so she vowed to do the same, forcing herself to focus on the screen in front of her.

The song she was listening to felt more than appropriate that morning and she found herself nodding along emphatically as it blared from her computer. As caught up as she was in the lyrics, Belle only became aware of Ruby’s presence in her office as her friend reached out and turned off the speaker, ending the music abruptly.

Belle spun towards Ruby in her chair. “What’d you do that for?”

“Honey, you can’t keep doing this to yourself. More importantly, you can’t keep doing it to me!” Ruby pointed out towards the main office area. “I’ve had to listen to that damn song on repeat for the last hour. If you have to mope, at least mix it up a bit!”

“It’s cathartic,” Belle grumbled, reaching over to turn the speaker back on.

Ruby smacked her hand away. “I’m serious, Belle. If I have to listen to,” she squinted at the computer screen, “Neko Case – whoever the hell that is – sing ‘We've Never Met’ one more time, I’m going to kill you. Possibly myself too. This is a _horrible_ song.”

Belle let her head fall down on her desk with a soft thump. “Go away, Ruby. I distinctly remember putting up with your Cher phase a couple years ago.”

Ruby sniffed. “That’s different. Cher is a legend.” She nudged Belle over a bit and plopped down on her desk. “You weren’t this depressed when you and Gaston broke up and you guys had been going out for six months. What gives?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Belle said primly. She sat up straight, trying to avoid Ruby’s gaze. “I distinctly remember playing Sarah McLachlan on repeat for a few days.”

“You were sad at the time, but you weren’t wallowing in it like this! I just don’t understand why you’re falling to pieces over Gold when you guys didn’t even _date_. You and Gaston – “

“I didn’t love Gaston, okay?!” Belle yelled. Her eyes grew big a moment later and she turned back to her computer screen quickly.

“Hold up,” Ruby said, jumping off the desk as she spoke. “Are you in love with Gold?!”

 “Of course not. Don’t be silly.”

“Bollocks. You totally are.”

Belle reluctantly turned to look at Ruby, ignoring the tears that seemed to be gathering in the corner of her eyes. “Even if I was, it wouldn’t matter. Rum doesn’t care about me – he made that very clear yesterday.” She glanced hatefully at the window, the drawn blinds blocking her death glare from reaching its intended target. “He got what he wanted and then he found the first available chance to throw me to the curb.”

“I think you’re being a _little_ bit dramatic here…”

Kicking off her desk, Belle rolled her chair back so that she could shut the door to her office. Ruby looked at her curiously, but the last thing Belle wanted was to have the entire office know about her failed love affair.

“He kicked me out after we had sex in his office and hasn’t talked to me since. Tell me how I’m being overly dramatic here.”

“Well…” Ruby paused, and Belle could see the wheels in her mind turning, “…okay, I don’t have an explanation at the moment, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.”

Belle snorted.

“What did he say before you guys, uh…got down to business?”

Belle gave her a blank look, prompting Ruby to add “You got him to confess his feelings for you, right?

“Umm, we may have skipped that part actually,” Belle said with a cringe. “It seemed kind of implied at the time.”

“Oh, _honey_.”

“What? It’s not my fault he’s an emotionally delayed jerk who uses fruit baskets to play on women’s affection!”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “I think you should talk to him.”

Now that was something Belle was _definitely_ not going to do.

“It would take an act of God to get me near that man again,” Belle growled. “If he wants to talk, he can come to me.”

“Challenge accepted,” Ruby murmured.

“What was that?” Belle narrowed her eyes. The last thing she needed was for Ruby to get involved. Again.

“Uh, never mind.” Ruby moved towards the door, swinging it open. “I’ll see you later.”

“Don’t do anything I’ll regret,” Belle called after her as Ruby slipped out of the door.

Her friend’s reply of “No promises” didn’t reassure Belle in the _least_.

\------------------------

It was already the longest Tuesday of his life. In fact, he was pretty sure there had never been a worse Tuesday in the history of the world.

Gold sat at his desk, staring at the clock on his computer screen, wondering if this was the day he would finally lose his mind.

He hadn’t been able to get any work done all morning. Instead he had been counting the minutes as they ticked by, each one a reminder that Belle hadn’t contacted him since she stormed out of his office the day before.

Though they’d planned to meet at 4 pm yesterday, he’d realized pretty quickly that she would probably need time to cool off after the altercation with Regina. As much as he’d hated the scene she made in the office, he’d spent the afternoon fairly confident that they would be able to work everything out. She’d need to apologize to Regina of course and promise not to lose her temper in front of his staff again, but he had been convinced that Belle – being the reasonable person that she was – would agree with him after she had time to think things over.

He’d even avoided looking out his window, wanting to give her space until she called. It wasn’t until close to 5 pm that he had begun to get a bit curious and glanced over, his anger flaring as his eyes settled on her window.

The cursed blinds were back.

Gold had never felt such hatred towards a window accessory in his life. He loathed those blinds with a passion he usually only reserved for car salesmen and infomercials.

All of the sudden, his office – where only a couple hours earlier he’d been the happiest man on earth – had seemed rather tiny and stifling. Deciding it might be easier to work from home for the rest of the day, he had thrown some work into his briefcase and headed out the door.

The look on Ariel’s face when he’d said he was leaving early was almost enough to make him smile.

Almost.

He’d spent the rest of the night getting very little done. Instead his mind seemed to swing back and forth from hoping that Belle would come to her senses in the morning and apologize to being utterly convinced that she would stay walled up behind those blinds for the rest of eternity and that he would never see her again.

Trying to tell himself that he didn’t want to be with anyone that dramatic hadn’t helped either. Even though he knew it hadn’t been his fault, Gold vividly remembered his nightmares from the night before – dreams where he begged Belle to come back, only for her to sneer and turn her back on him.

Knowing that today was a Tuesday – a day that should have filled him with happiness –just left him feeling that much worse.

Gold sighed, ignoring the impulse to look out the window. He knew _they_ would still be there.

Most of his anger from the night before had faded, though his confusion remained. He still couldn’t figure out how things had gone so wrong for them so quickly.

Worst of all, now that he had such beautiful memories of her in his arms, Belle’s absence from his life only smarted that much more.

The ring of his cell interrupted his thoughts. Gold picked it up, grateful for the distraction.

“Hi, son,” he answered tiredly.

“Uh-oh. What’s wrong, papa?”

Gold grimaced. As always, his child knew him far too well.

“I don’t know,” he admitted with a sigh. “It seems to have all gone wrong somehow.”

“Belle problems again?”

For some reason the assumption irked Gold. “It’s not always about Belle,” he snapped.

There was a disbelieving silence on the other end of the phone.

“Okay, fine. It’s about Belle.”

His son’s voice was cautious when he spoke next. “What happened?”

Gold sighed again, running his free hand through his hair. “That’s just it. Things were going so well and then – she just snapped.”

“Is it possible that she just got tired of waiting for you to make a move?”

“But that’s the thing, I did! We even – ” Gold paused, not sure exactly how much detail he wanted to share with his son. They were close, but not _that_ close. “Let’s just say things were going really well for a while and then…well, they _stopped_ going well.”

“Oh,” Bae said slowly. “Is there something you could take for that?  You know, I’m always seeing those commercials on TV – “

“No – no – no,” Gold hurried to correct his son. “It’s not like that – “

“Because there’s no shame in it! And at your age – “

Gold felt his anger flare. “I am perfectly capable of getting it up, Bae!” As if the situation wasn’t embarrassing enough, now his son thought he was old _and_ impotent. “That went fine. It was after that when everything went to hell.”

“Some men cry, papa. It’s perfectly natural.”

It was a clear testament to how much he loved his son that he didn’t hang up the phone immediately. Instead, he took a deep breath to calm himself. None of this was Bae’s fault, after all.

“No, your ancient and overly emotional father managed to make it through the act of sexual intercourse without embarrassing himself, thank you very much.”

Before Bae could supply any other helpful suggestions, Gold continued. “Look, I’m not exactly sure what happened. Belle wasn’t even out of my sight for five minutes before I found her making a spectacle of herself in the middle of the office while Regina – “

He heard Bae snort. “I think the keyword there is ‘Regina’. Are you sure you have all the facts?”

For not the first time, doubt crept into Gold’s mind. “She was yelling at Regina when I got there,” he said hesitantly.

“Uh-huh. But what happened before that? Did you give Belle a chance to explain or did you just jump to conclusions like usual?”

When he didn’t answer, Bae let out a sigh. “Oh, papa.”

Perhaps he had been a bit hasty in his rush to defuse the situation, Gold thought. And Regina _had_ seemed rather pleased with herself after Belle stomped off.

“Fine, I’ll go and speak with her. But don’t be surprised when it all goes to hell in a handbasket.”

He could almost hear his son’s smile over the phone. “Just call me once you’ve kissed and made up. But no fruit baskets this time, okay?”

Gold growled. “I didn’t do anything wrong this time!”

He paused when he heard a feminine snort in the background.

“I’m on speaker phone, aren’t I?”

“Hi, Gold.” Emma’s voice chirped over the phone. “I’m with Bae on this one, by the way.”

Gold closed his eyes wearily. “Please tell me Henry isn’t there as well.”

“Nope, he’s at school,” Bae answered with a laugh. “Actually, we had some news to tell you, which is why we were both here, but it can wait until later.”

Gold’s anxiety kicked into high gear at the word “news”.

“Are you alright? Do you need me to drive you to the doctor’s? I can leave work now – ”

“Papa, it’s good news. Don’t worry.”

“We’ll tell you after you talk to Belle,” Emma added. “It’ll be extra incentive.”

More like blackmail, Gold thought.

“Fine, I’m calling you the moment we’re done.”

“Take your time. Our news isn’t going anywhere – not for another six months at least.”

Gold narrowed his eyes, but allowed the comment to pass. He’d find out soon enough, he supposed.

“Talk to you soon then.”

“Good luck,” Bae said, quickly followed by Emma’s “Don’t screw it up, Gold!”

Wincing, he quickly ended the call before Emma could get in another parting shot.

He stared at the phone in his hand thoughtfully for a few moments, hoping that whatever good news his son and daughter-in-law had would be worth the torture he was about to put himself through.

Gold had never been an optimist and he didn’t exactly have high hopes for his conversation with Belle.

However, he also knew it would only be worse the longer he put it off, so he squared his shoulders and took a deep breath.

He was just getting up from his desk when his door opened and Regina stuck her head in, her smile practically reaching from ear to ear.

It was a truly terrifying sight, he thought to himself. But out loud he only said, “One of these days, I’m going to teach you how to knock.”

 “You’re going to want to come and see this,” Regina said gleefully. “Trust me.”

“That’ll be the day,” he muttered under his breath. He followed her out into the main office, his puzzlement growing until his eyes fell on Ariel’s desk.

Gold stopped short. “Is that – “

“A giant fruit basket of bananas?” Regina said with a dark chuckle. “I believe it is, boss.”

He looked dumbstruck towards Ariel. His secretary looked back at him nervously as she spoke.  

“There was no card, Mr. Gold. But the delivery man said it was sent from in-house.”

Regina snorted. “That little _friend_ of yours certainly has a weird way of saying sorry. Who in the world sends fruit baskets these days?”

“Oh, like you would know how to apologize!” Gold snapped back. He picked up one of the giant-sized bananas before throwing it back in the basket with a look of disgust.

“Ariel,” he added a moment later, “can you go pull the files for August Booth’s case and put them on my desk?”

She nodded quickly and disappeared. He turned back to Regina, who eyed him speculatively.

“Subtle, Gold. Why do I have the feeling I’m about to be preached at again?”

“Because you are,” Gold replied snidely. “I want to know what you said to Belle yesterday before I showed up. It isn’t like her to react like that.”

Regina crossed her arms defensively, looking a little uncomfortable. “I might have said a _little_ something…”

He glared at her.

“What? I can’t help it if she has thin skin,” Regina complained. “Besides, she was nosing around in my personal business with Daniel.”

Gold massaged his temple. “What did you say _exactly_?”

“Well…”

“Regina!”

“I might have called her a gold digger.” She cleared her throat. “Possibly.”

He groaned. “Alright, that’s it. You – ” he said, pointing a finger at her, “ – need to go talk to that ex-boyfriend of yours. And I – “ he gulped “ – need to go fix things with Belle.”

“But – “

“Take my advice, Regina. When you find someone worth fighting for, just _do_ it.”

Without another word, Gold strode towards the door determinedly, leaving the fruit basket and a sputtering Regina behind him.

\-------------------------

Ruby had made good on her non-promise to Belle from earlier that morning and had been busy plotting away ever since. She had quickly enlisted Jefferson’s help, filling him in on the newest developments.

The two of them now leaned against her desk, discussing various strategies and generally ignoring the other employees around them actually doing work.

“I’m just sad we wasted all that money on those bananas now,” Jefferson sulked. “We could have spent it on St. Patty’s Day decorations instead.”

Ruby ignored him. “Maybe we could call him? Tell him some lie that gets him over here, like we did last time.”

“I don’t think we can steal her keys again. We’ll have to think of something new.”

Ruby threw up her arms in exasperation. “I’m not a criminal mastermind! I only have so many good ideas, you know.”

“Well,” said a low voice from behind them, “you could always just ask _nicely_.”

Ruby and Jefferson spun around to see Gold standing behind them, his eyebrow quirked as he stared at them curiously before speaking again.

“So it was the two of you behind that particular ploy – I suppose that makes more sense now.”

“Gold!” Jefferson said, opening his arms up wide, his enthusiasm a bit too late to feel genuine. “What a surprise!”

“Yes, I’m sure you’re absolutely tickled.” Gold fiddled with his cufflinks. “Now, would you tell me where Belle is? I’d like to get this over with before the two of you decide to kidnap one of us.”

Ruby gestured awkwardly with her arm to further back in the room. “She’s in the supply closet. I’ll take you there if you want.”

Jefferson flashed her a thumbs up over Gold’s shoulder as they walked off. Ruby gave him a weak smile in return.

She had thought that helping Belle get back together with her rich boyfriend was a great idea earlier, but now that Gold was practically breathing fire down her neck, she was almost regretting getting herself involved.

Ruby pushed her doubt away quickly though. Nothing worthwhile was ever easily done, her grandmother had always told her.

Besides, she thought mischievously, it made the work day go by _so_ much quicker.

Ruby put a hand out in front of Gold, halting him several steps before the open door to the supply closet.

“Just know that if you hurt her in any way, I will dent your Cadillac on purpose this time.”

Gold narrowed his eyes. “I suppose Belle’s lucky to have a friend like you.”

Before she could think of a reply, he pushed past her and walked into the supply closet, letting the door slam firmly behind him.

Ruby heard Belle’s shout of warning come a moment too late – the door was already _quite_ stuck.

“Jefferson,” she hissed. “Come see this.”

She didn’t even blink an eye when Jefferson’s head immediately popped out from behind the nearest wall.

“What did you do?” he asked, his eyes wide.

“I didn’t do anything,” Ruby said crossing her arms. “And that’s _exactly_ what I intend to keep doing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: And here we have the moment that shipperqueen93 has been begging over a year for...


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shipperqueen93 prompted: Can I prompt Ruby and Jefferson locking Belle and Gold in a closet?!

“Rum, don’t close the – “

Belle let out a huff of frustration as the door slammed shut behind Gold.

“…door,” she finished lamely.

He looked between her and the door in confusion before her meaning finally dawned on him. His eyebrows furrowed and he had to actively keep the bite out of his voice when he spoke again.

“You’re in no danger from me, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Belle rolled her eyes as she strode past him towards the door. “Of course not! I’m not worried about you – it’s this stupid door.” She pulled on the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. Hitting her fist against the door, Belle called out. “Hello? Anyone out there? The door’s stuck again.”

“What do you mean ‘it’s stuck’?” Gold asked worriedly, coming to stand next to her.

“What do you _think_ I mean? The door won’t open from the inside when it’s shut – no thanks to you!”

“I didn’t know!” He gestured towards the door. “Your friend is there. She’ll get us out.”

Only then did Belle seem to hear noise on the other side of the door. Her eyes narrowed. “Well, of course it’s Ruby. When is it anyone else?” She kicked the door loudly. “Ruby! If you don’t open this door, I swear to god, I’ll get you fired!”

From the other side of the door, Ruby’s chuckles were joined by the sound of Jefferson’s booming laugh.

“I guess we’ll consider that your first failed attempt at blackmail then,” Gold grumbled.

Belle kicked the door again in frustration before sagging against the wall. “Maybe we can make fake kissing noises or something. They’re not going to relent until they think their plan has worked and we’ve made up.” She grimaced. “Preferably in the most cliché way possible.”

“Well, I’m certainly not making love to you in a closet,” he said bitterly.

Belle looked at him strangely. “ _Making love_? That’s rich coming from a man who just wanted a quick fuck against his desk the other day.”

His entire posture stiffened. “I’m sorry if it didn’t meet your expectations. You certainly seemed to be enjoying yourself at the time.”

“Don’t you dare try to make this about me,” she said, her voice rising. “You’re the one who has been avoiding me ever since.”

Gold opened his mouth and then closed it abruptly. He shifted uncomfortably before finally speaking again. “Actually, that’s what I came over to talk to you about. Regina told me what she said, and I wanted to let you know that I’m going to insist that she apologizes to you.”

Belle scoffed. “I don’t care about what _Regina_ said, Rum.”

His brows drew together. “You don’t? Then what is _this_ all about?” he asked, motioning between them.

Belle made quotation marks with her fingers in the air as she spoke. “ _This_ is about you not giving me a chance to explain. Friends don’t treat each other like that. And after what had just happened between us…well, it made me feel cheap. Like everything Regina said about me was true.”

“Of course it’s not true.” Gold sighed, running a hand through his hair. “And I am sorry for not giving you a chance to explain. But you have to understand my perspective. I have a reputation to uphold in my company. We’ve gotten to where we are by _not_ causing scenes like that. It was inappropriate – ”

She snorted. “That’s a bit hypocritical considering what we had just done in your office.”

“Belle, you embarrassed me in front of my _entire_ company.”

There was a moment of silence before Belle spoke. “I didn’t mean to lose my temper like that. I’m sorry. I think I was running a bit high on emotion after…well, you know.”

“Ah, yes. That.”

Belle seemed to be avoiding his gaze. Instead, her eyes stared straight ahead at the file cabinet across the room. “Do you regret it? We didn’t actually discuss what happened afterwards. I mean, I don’t even know if it meant anything to you or if you even care about me like that.”

“Of course I do!” he said, feeling slightly indignant. Most of the time he felt like the words were tattooed on his forehead for the entire world to see. “I would have thought that was obvious by now.”

“Not really,” Belle said wearily. “The only thing consistent about your behavior towards me is how _inconsistent_ it is.”

Gold winced, but didn’t argue. Belle continued speaking a moment later.

“I don’t know if you remember, but you actually told me the very first time we met that you weren’t attracted to me. How am I supposed to trust anything you say now when your actions, especially yesterday, tell me otherwise?”

She finally looked over at him, her eyes were filled with unshed tears. That more than anything told Gold what he had to do. He couldn’t cause Belle pain, even if it meant putting his own feelings on the line.

Better that his heart should break than hers, he told himself.

Despite his resolve to be brave and honest, the words still came out no louder than a whisper.

“I never told you how I knew your name, did I?”

She shook her head. “No. Since you insulted me the first time I asked, I hadn’t really felt like bringing it up again.”

Feeling his courage failing, he rushed through the next sentence as quick as possible. “I-sort-of-bribed-the-security-guards-to-look-you-up-in-the-system.”

Belle’s jaw dropped open. “You what?”

Gold gestured uselessly with his hands. “Well, I was desperate to know who you were. Every day I’d see you from my window and I couldn’t help but want to _know_ you.” He began to pace around the small room, needing the exercise to distract him from Belle’s intent gaze. “Of course when fate finally threw you my way, I blew it. I knew you’d never be interested in someone like me, so I made damn sure you’d never see how much I actually cared about you.”

Belle shook her head in confusion. “But so much has changed since then! Why not tell me yesterday?”

“I was afraid I’d scare you off if you knew how deeply I cared for you.” He paused, digging deep within himself to find the courage to continue. After all the crap he’d put her through, Belle deserved his honesty. “I think I was half in love with you from the moment we met.”

Belle inched closer to him. “And…now?”

“Do you think I’d be this much of an idiot around someone I wasn’t hopelessly in love with?”

He expected derision or even laughter. It was the kind of reaction he’d grown used to from his former relationships.

Instead, he watched in amazement as Belle’s face broke into the widest smile he’d ever seen. The next thing he knew, she had thrown her arms around him, pulling herself up on tiptoe to kiss him.

Her lips were warm and soft against his, and he opened his mouth willing for her, his arms slowly closing around her. Their mouths moved languidly against each other, pausing only when air became a necessity.

He rested his forehead against hers, his heart rejoicing when she didn’t pull away.

“You weren’t the only one looking across the courtyard,” Belle whispered softly.

Gold’s head shot up, looking at her in surprise.

Belle giggled at his expression. “Before that night in the parking garage, I’d been trying for ages to catch hold of you somehow. I even used to look around the cafeteria for you, hoping you’d show up and I could introduce myself.”

“You were looking for me?” Gold asked incredulously. The realization almost made him laugh. All those times he’d been jealous of the person she was searching for, he’d been jealous of _himself_.

She nodded. “And I’m so glad I found you.” She reached up to cup his face with her hands, her expression growing more serious. “I’m so incredibly in love with you, Rum.”

Had Gold wanted to, he doubted he could have stopped the ridiculous grin that spread across his face or the way his heart seemed close to bursting with utter happiness at her confession.

He had imagined those words a million times. Yet, he was sure they had never sounded as sweet as they did in this moment.

Belle actually loved him, his brain repeated over and over again. He honestly didn’t think he had ever heard a more beautiful sentence in the English language than that.

With a joyful laugh, he lifted Belle off the ground, twirling her around in the small space. She let out a high-pitched squeal, her surprise quickly turning into delight as her laughter joined his, echoing throughout the room.

As he lowered her back to the ground, their lips met again. Though it was far from their first kiss, it felt different this time to him. It felt like a kiss full of possibility, full of the promise of a new chapter of their lives – a chapter that he realized they could share _together_.

He rested his forehead on hers again, feeling rather dizzy. Whether it was from swinging Belle around or from the cocktail of emotions currently racing through him, he couldn’t say.

“I’m still not making love to you in here,” he muttered quietly, his tone failing to sound the least bit petulant. “I don’t doubt that your friends are listening on the other side of the door.”

“Well, I suppose we can’t be too mad at them. Who knows how long it would have taken us to figure things out without their help?”

“Still we should teach them a lesson,” Gold said vindictively. “Say they’re not invited to the wedding or something.”

Belle leaned back to stare at him, her mouth falling open in surprise. Gold’s cheeks burned as he realized what he had said.

“I mean – I was just…” his eyes darted towards the door nervously, “let’s see if we can get out of here, shall we?”

\------

After quite a bit of loud banging, Jefferson and Ruby had finally let them out, looking decidedly less guilty than Belle thought they should.

She’d told them just as much, aided by a glowering Rum, before announcing that she was taking an early lunchbreak. She and Rum had left the office together, ignoring the gleeful giggles and high fives that Ruby and Jefferson had exchanged.

Belle definitely planned to sit them both down for a long talk later, but she had better things to do at the moment.

It was too early to go to lunch, but neither of them wanted to part from the other quite yet. They decided to head down to the lunchroom anyway, since it was usually fairly empty at that time of the morning. They had a lot to talk about after all, and despite it being a public area, they knew they’d probably get more privacy there then they would in either of their offices, considering their co-workers’ penchant for interfering.   

As they made their way downstairs, Rum reached for her hand, smiling shyly as he wrapped his fingers around hers. His expression seemed so hesitant – as if he still didn’t trust this newfound happiness they had found quite yet – that she decided against teasing him about his inadvertent marriage proposal from earlier.

However, as they climbed into the luckily vacant elevator, she did mention a few of her racier daydreams in that exact spot.

From the way his eyes darkened, it seemed Rum didn’t mind her sharing one bit.

Arriving in the lunchroom a couple minutes later, they found it all but deserted. Even the kitchen seemed unusually quiet to Belle. They were nearing their usual table when they heard low laughter coming from a bench off to the side of the room, slightly hidden from view by some potted trees.

Belle was planning to ignore it and take a seat at their table when Rum put out an arm to stop her. He had a rather devious look on his face and motioned for her to follow him.

They walked towards the other side of the room, stopping in front of the bench and the pair that sat upon it.

“Well, well,” Rum said smugly, “what have we here?”

A rather disheveled Regina and Daniel stared back at them in surprise before quickly untangling themselves from each other and sitting up straight.

“Gold,” Regina nodded stiffy, trying and failing to smooth down her suit jacket covertly. Her blood red lipstick was slightly smeared while Daniel’s lips looked as if he had tried to apply lipstick in the dark.

“I guess it’s been a busy day all around,” Rum said blandly.

Regina glared at him but said nothing.

“I’m glad we ran into you both,” Daniel said cheerfully, seeming unbothered by being caught in such a compromising position. “Regina actually had something she wanted to say to Belle.”

“I did?” Regina seemed perplexed before Daniel nudged her. “Oh yeah,” she said slowly, look decidedly uncomfortable. “I guess I wanted to say…sorry?”

“Is that an apology or are you confused as to the meaning of the word?” Rum asked a bit testily.

Regina eyed him peevishly. “It’s an apology.” She turned back to Belle. “Really, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things about you. Daniel explained how good a friend you’ve been to him through all of this, and I know now that you were just trying to help.”

Belle nodded. “I’m just glad to see that you two have worked things out.”

Regina glanced back at Daniel, the expression in her eyes softening. “I’m just glad I know the truth now. Even if my mother’s interference cost us so many years together.”

The couple gazed at each other adoringly, seeming to forget that anyone else was around. Belle found herself almost getting teary-eyed.

“Excellent,” Rum said suddenly, breaking the moment. “Now that that’s all cleared up, we won’t keep you any longer. You look very busy and we wouldn’t want to interrupt.”

Belle had no more than a moment to wave goodbye before Rum pulled her by the hand around the corner, away from the rather surprised faces of the other pair, and back towards the elevator.

She grinned at him once they reached it. “That was rather rude.”

Rum shrugged, pressing the button for the elevator. “I didn’t really feel like sharing you quite yet.” He opened his arms for her and Belle stepped into his embrace, loving the feeling of being wrapped securely in his arms. “Plus, I realized that with Regina down here, we might actually get some privacy in my office.”

Belle chuckled. “Between our coworkers and your family, privacy does seem rather hard to come by.”

His eyes grew wide. “Damn it, I forgot about Bae.”

Belle lifted her head from his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

He looked down at her, his expression quickly turning to one of contentment. “Absolutely nothing. But how do you feeling about being on speaker phone?”


	17. Epilogue

**9 months later**

Belle smiled as she began packing away the last of her things for the day. The company Christmas party had just finished and she was more than ready to call it a night.

A quick glance when she had first returned to her office had shown her that Rum was still at work. She didn’t see him, but as his light was still on she knew he was there somewhere.

She hadn’t heard from him much that day, which was strange. But perhaps he was busy arranging things for the Christmas Day dinner he would be holding at his house in a few days time, she decided. What with it being his baby granddaughter’s first Christmas, he seemed bound and determined to make everything – from the tackily enormous tree to the obscene amount of presents underneath it – absolutely perfect.

Her cell phone vibrated. Belle glanced at it and smiled when she saw that the text was from Rum.

_Happy Anniversary_

She looked at the message in confusion, typing out a quick reply.

_I think you’re a few months early ;)_

His reply came almost immediately.

_It’s one year from the day we met._

Belle felt her eyes well up with tears at his thoughtfulness.

_Well aren’t you full of surprises?_

She was about to ask whether or not he wanted to grab some late dinner together when she saw that he was typing a reply.

_As it happens, I have another surprise for you. Look up._

Belle, somewhat mystified by his message, looked across the courtyard to his office, her breath catching in her throat as her eyes landed on him.

He stood facing the window, a small black box sitting in his upheld palm. Even from across the courtyard, Belle could see the light from his office catch on the ring inside, causing the diamond to sparkle brilliantly in the night.

Before Belle could react, his other hand pressed a piece of paper against the glass. In large, bold words it read, “Wave for Yes.”

A bubble of laughter burst forth and Belle waved both hands at him wildly.

“Yes,” she shouted, even though she knew he couldn’t hear her. “Of course, yes!”

His answering smile was the brightest thing she’d ever seen.

With a quick gesture that she would be coming over, she practically flew out of the room towards his office.

Belle had a fiancé to meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: I wanted to say a big thanks to everyone who read and commented and supported (and threatened to hunt me down if I didn’t finish) this story. Not only is this the longest Rumbelle fic I’ve ever completed, but when I started it, WNM was probably only the second one I’d written for this fandom. So thanks again to every single one of you! 
> 
> Special thanks to Mr. Prissy for reading every single chapter and helping me develop this story from the very beginning. Also, to B_does_the_write_thing for her invaluable help with these last few chapters especially. I don’t know what I would have done without these two darlings <3
> 
> Shameless plug: If you liked WNM, you may be interested in two of my other WIPs that I'll be conquering soon.   
> 1) Welcome to the Enchanted Forest is a modern AU where Gold and Belle are actors at a medieval dinner theatre. If it's possible, Gold sticks his foot in his mouth even more than usual in this verse. Winner of Best Mr. Gold in the 2016 TEA Awards.  
> 2) The Fairy Gardener is a Dark Castle AU where Belle is a sassy fairy that tends to Rumplestiltskin's garden. I'm also working on a smutty remix of this verse because...I lost a bet.


End file.
